Radon Radiological Risk Assessment Due to Tap Water Consumption in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Ensuring the potability of drinking water is an ongoing challenge for all worldwide nations. “In this study, we” evaluated dissolved “radon concentrations in” tap water consumed “in” Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Samples of tap water were collected in vials throughout 13 communes of Abidjan District. After being exposed for 97 days to sheets of LR 115 detector, they were chemically etched and track onto their surfaces were optically counted. The results of the obtained dissolved radon concentrations ranged from (0.13 ± 0.06) Bq/L to (2.12 ± 0.87) Bq/L with an average of (0.81 ± 0.34) Bq/L. The resulting total annual effective doses received by the public range from (1.3 ± 0.6) µSv/Y to (21 ± 9) µSv/Y with an average of (7.93 ± 3.25) µSv/Y. The obtained average dissolved radon concentration in tap water and corresponding total annual effective dose are larger and smaller than those obtained in Egypt, Pakistan, Palestine by some authors and in Libya, Saudi Arabia by others, respectively. But, these results are much lower than the threshold values of 100 Bq/L and 100 µSv/Y recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to States to take action. This preliminary study should be extended to other regions and drinking water sources across Côte d’Ivoire.