Assessment of radiological risks due to natural radioactivity in tap water from the District of Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

Abstract

Water is an indispensable substance for life, but good quality water is necessary for the good health of the population. Unfortunately, people's concern about environmental pollution and a priori the quality of drinking water is growing in the district of Abidjan. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the risk of cancer of populations due to the ingestion of natural radionuclides in Abidjan flap water. Thus, using the analytical technique of gamma spectrometry, 43 water samples were analyzed. The results show varying concentrations of radionuclides and effective annual doses below the WHO guideline in more than 93% of the samples. The cancer risk assessment yielded values ranging from 1.98×10-5 to 1.62×10-4 and from 2.89×10-5 to 2.70×10-4 respectively for mortality risk and morbidity risk, with average values of 7.63×10-5 and 1.11×10-4 respectively. According to United States Environmental Protection Agency, more than 81% of the water samples have a mortality risk lower than the maximum permissible value of risk. While for the morbidity risk, only 60.47% of samples contain acceptable risk values. These results have shown that not only the contribution of tap drinking-water to the proliferation of cancer in the study area but also provide a database for radioactivity in drinking-water in Cote D’Ivoire.