Average annual committed effective dose and threshold consumption rate of bovine samples collected from a government owned abattoir, Ikpoba slope, Benin City, Nigeria

Abstract

The activity concentrations of 40K, 232Th, and 238U in five different organs of bovine meat commonly eaten by the Nigerian populace were measured using gamma ray spectrometry. The meat samples were collected from a Government owned abattoir at Ikpoba slope, Benin City. The essence of the study was to estimate the internal radiation dose incurred by a population due to the ingestion of radionuclides from meat consumption. The mean absorbed dose rate was 12.60 ± 1.51 nGy h−1, which is far lower than the recommended value of 55 nGy h−1. The AACED obtained in this study differs for each organ, thereby making the threshold consumption rate different, but the mean dose, 0.171 ± 0.07 mSv yr−1, is below the 0.3 mSv yr−1 reported to be the recommended average value. The mean threshold consumption rate for meat intake for the samples under study was calculated to be 107.5 ± 6.22 kg yr–1. Thus, this study has contributed to the body of knowledge and data that can lead to the formulation of regulations related to radiological healthcare in the study area.