Crude oil exploration at Akenfa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria: Assessment of radioactivity in soil samples and hazard implications

One of the main indicators of radioactive contamination in soil is naturally occurring radioactivity. In this work, twelve (12) soil samples from the vicinity of an oil well in the Akenfa community of Bayelsa state were collected. The activity concentrations of K-40, Ra-226, and Th-232 were determined by analysing the samples using γ-ray spectrometry, which was set up on a sodium iodide, thallium-activated detector. According to the findings, the activity concentration range for Ra-226 was 0.17 to 11.51Bq/kg, Th-232 was 8.82 to 29.16Bq/kg, and K-40 was 135.43 to 219.19Bq/kg. The average values revealed that the absorbed gamma dose rate (D) was 14.45 nGy/y, the radium equivalent activity (RaE) was 30.33 Bq/kg, and the annual effective dose rate (AED) was lower than the global average of 0.7 mSv. The value for the gamma Index (GI) was 0.23, and the calculated values for the internal and external hazards, Hex, and Hin, were below acceptable limits. Based on the results, there was no need for concern for the people in the area as all levels were found to be within the safe ranges.