Bioremediation effect of magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles on radioactive sediment-induced cancer risk in aquatic lives

Effluents emerging from unprotected mining activities usually pollute the nearby rivers containing aquatic lives. The advent of nanotechnology however, supposedly helps in removal of water contaminants and as well make waste water remediation possible. On this note, effluents due to sharp practice, local and unprotected mining activities examined in this study and the effect on the studied areas so far has been a major concern. The concentration of primordial radionuclides was elevated which could further pose serious health threat to the population of people living in the mining environment. Stream-water, well-water and their water- sediments were collected within local mining area at Ijero local government area, Ekiti-State, Nigeria. The three samples were divided into two racks where rack A contains the natural stream, well water and sediments only while rack B contains the mixture of magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles with the stream water, well-water and their sediments. The activity concentration of primordial nuclides was measured with gamma ray spectroscopy (GRS). The results of activity concentration of radionuclides obtained as mean activity concentration of plutonium [242Pu], [uranium 238U] and thorium [232Th] in natural sediments collected only from the stream and dug wells are 1120.35±216.6, 63.46±6.7 and 86.36±24.9 Bq I-1 respectively which are significantly (P<0.05) higher than that obtained from well-water (267.83±18.7, 32.50±1.3 and 17.03±1.8 Bq I-1) and earth surface stream water (224.03±18.5, 10.73±1.9 and 15.01±1.5 Bq I-1) respectively in same location. The results from this study suggest that effluents from local mining activities may have contributed to the high rise in the activity of primordial radionuclides in the study area while the application of magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles evokes alterations in the physiological system of the water and ameliorate the radioactive propensity of the water sediments where (343.96±16.2, 42.21±1.7 and 51.04±1.8 Bq I-1) was obtained.