ABSTRACT
The background radiation level of Oracle Plastics and Sacs were investigated and measured using the Radiation Alert Inspector. A total of seven (7) units/departments within the company were considered: marketing, clinic waiting room, entrance, sack section, leather/shopping bag, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and injection mould units, and data were obtained from those units. The investigation revealed that the mean exposure dose rate of the background radiation within the company was 0.019 ± 0.0062 µSv/hr, and the mean annual exposure dose equivalence was 0.17 ± 0.0028 mSv/yr. The global average natural dose of background ionizing radiation for exposure dose rate as recommended by UNSCEAR (2008) was 0.274 µSv/hr. The ICRP and UNSCEAR values of the annual effective dose equivalence were 1.00 mSv/yr and 20.00 mSv/yr for individual in general public and occupational workers respectively as recommended by the organization. The average activity concentration measured from different sections ranged from 9.017 Bq/Kg (Marketing and Injection Mould) to 21.322 Bq/Kg (Polyvinyl Chloride) with a mean value of 13.413 ± 4.742 while the estimated result of excess lifetime cancer risk ranged from 0.069 (Polyvinyl Chloride) to 0.161 (Marketing, sack section and the injection mould) with a mean value of 0.118 ± 0.040. The ELCR mean value was also found to be lower than the world average safe limit of 0.29. The ELCR mean value was also found to be lower than the world average safe limit of 0.29. The Company has low-level activity of background radiation compared to other such companies around the world.
AUTHOR AFFILIATIONS
Department of Physics, Benue State University, Makurdi
CITATION
Samuel OO, Jerry IT and Stephen OM (2024) Measurement of Background Radiation at Oracle Plastics and Sacks Company in Makurdi, Benue State. Environ Sci Arch 3(1): 37-46.
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