Radiological and Geochemical Evaluation of Pegmatite Rocks in some selected States in Nigeria

Authors

Keywords:

radioactivity, geochemistry, pegmatite rocks, hazard indices, building construction, Nigeria

Abstract

Natural radioactivity and geochemical evaluation of pegmatite in some selected States in Nigeria has been determined. Five (5) representative rock samples were collected each from six states to make a total of 30 samples. The activity concentrations of 40K, 226Ra and 232Th were counted using a NaI(Tl) detector coupled to a digital-based multi-channel analyzer (MCA) and PerkinElmer AAnalyst 400 AA Spectrometer was used for the geochemical analysis of the samples.

 The mean gamma absorbed dose rates obtained were 104.1nGyh-1 (Oyo) 92.4nGyh-1(Kogi), 81.8nGyh-1(Nasarawa), 93.75nGyh-1(Niger) and 58.9nGyh-1(Osun) with the corresponding mean annual effective dose rates of 0.6, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7mSv, respectively. The geochemical analysis of major oxides showed that Niger State has SiO2 concentration of 74.97wt%. Pegmatite samples from Osun and Oyo States have the same SiO2 concentration of 72wt% while Kogi and Ekiti State also have the same value of 69wt%. Aluminum oxide (AI2O3) exhibited second most abundant concentrations that ranged from 15.11-18.83wt%. Each of the Na2O and K2O present in the samples has a value of 2wt% while other major elements including Fe2O3, TiO2, CaO, P2O5, MnO and MgO has a value less than 1wt% each. The values of the radiological hazard indices and geochemical analysis are low however Nigerian Government should encourage obligatory monitoring of the dwellings built with any rock(s) to prevent unnecessary high exposure of human to ionizing radiation.

Dimensions

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Published

2023-07-06

How to Cite

Olabamiji, A. O., Alausa, S. K., & Alabi, T. O. (2023). Radiological and Geochemical Evaluation of Pegmatite Rocks in some selected States in Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Physics, 32(1), 132-141. https://njp.nipngr.org/index.php/njp/article/view/5

Issue

Vol. 32 No. 1 (2023): Nigerian Journal of Physics - Vol. 32 No. 1

Section

Articles
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How to Cite

Olabamiji, A. O., Alausa, S. K., & Alabi, T. O. (2023). Radiological and Geochemical Evaluation of Pegmatite Rocks in some selected States in Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Physics, 32(1), 132-141. https://njp.nipngr.org/index.php/njp/article/view/5

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