Evaluation of Background Ionizing Radiation in 20 Selected Locations within Rumuosi and Choba Village, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

The evaluation of background ionizing radiation in 20 selected locations within Rumuosi and Choba villages, Port Harcourt, Rivers state, was accomplished using a nuclear radiation detector (GQ GMC-300E plus), and global positioning system (GPS) used to measure the geographical coordinates of the sample points. The exposure rate, absorbed dose, annual effective dose and excess lifetime cancer risk parameters had average mean values of 0.010±0.0013 mR/h and 0.0100±0.0094 mR/h, 87.00±11.6 nGy/h and 87.00±8.20 nGy/h, 0.133±0.06 mSv/y and 0.133±0.01337 mSv/y and 0.47±0.063×10ˉ³ and 0.47±0.04×10ˉ³ for Rumuosi and Choba, respectively. The excess lifetime cancer risk parameters implies that people living within these areas may be exposed to cancer in their later life. Conclusively, the result indicates that people living within these locations may not be exposed to background ionizing radiation. However, a routine monitoring within these locations should be observed.