Title : Development of nanomaterial for mitigating radon in various water sources
Abstract:
Water is necessary for drinking purposes as well as other household needs. Nevertheless, it may be contaminated by naturally occurring radionuclides like radon-222 which is a radioactive gas that is colorless and odorless, and which has the potential of posing health problems through inhalation and ingestion. This research work investigated the efficiency of activated carbon-chitosan (AC-CH) hybrid nanoparticles in the removal of radon-222 from groundwater samples from Lagos State University Ojo Nigeria. Fifty samples of groundwater including 42 samples of borehole water and 8 samples of hand dug wells were randomly selected for this study. Radon levels were measured using the solid-state nuclear track detector (SSNTD) named LR-115 while the radiological risks associated with exposure to the radon gas were determined for adults, children, and infants. The radon levels were found to range from 3.7 ± 0.3 to 40.7 ± 8.3 Bq/L, giving an average of 18.4 ± 3.5 Bq/L above the NESREA standard of 11.1 Bq/L. The average annual effective doses were 0.07, 0.03, and 0.02 mSv/y for adults, children, and infants while the excess lifetime cancer risk was 0.193 × 10?³. Activated carbon and chitosan were prepared from coconut and crab shells respectively. SEM results showed porous structure of the activated carbon and fibrous structure of chitosan. The AC-CH composite nanomaterials reduced the average radon level to 8.89 ± 1.53 and 1.33 ± 0.35 Bq/L after first and second cycles of adsorption respectively with more than 92% removal efficiency and demonstrating excellent potential for improving drinking water quality.
