Background: In this study, the health risk associated with three types of drinking waters (fissure, underground treated and surrounding waters) from two mines in South Africa were assessed. Materials and Methods: The measurement of the radionuclides concentration was carried out by liquid scintillation counter and alpha spectrometer. The estimated radiological risk pose to the people consuming the water types were evaluated based on the calculated radionuclide concentrations. Results: The value of the gross alpha was 1.15 ± 0.13 Bq/L and gross beta activity was 0.87 ± 0.11 Bq/L in the treated underground water. These values were several fold above the limit value of 1.0 Bq/L for gross alpha and 0.1 Bq/L for gross beta. For the fissure water, the gross alpha activity value was 0.56 ± 0.10 Bq/L which is less than the limit of 1.0 Bq/L and the gross beta activity was high with a value of 0.52 ± 0.11 Bq/L compared to the limit value of 0.1 Bq/L. The results around the Princess gold mine showed very high gross alpha and beta activity in the collected water samples studied. In general, the concentrations of the natural radionuclides were high especially ²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, ²³⁰Th, ²³⁵U, ²³⁴U and ²¹⁰Po in all the water samples. Conclusion: The calculated chemical toxicity, cancer mortality/morbidity and hazards quotient with respect to ²³⁸U were very high. Hence, the waters within these vicinities are polluted with radionuclides and may posed serious health effect to the inhabitant.
 

Background: All human beings and living organisms are exposed to natural radiations on daily basis, which is mainly due to the activity concentration of primordial radionuclides ²³²Th, ²³⁸U and their products of decay together with the natural radionuclide ⁴⁰K present in the earth’s crust. Materials and Methods: A total of 59 soil samples were collected around the banks and surroundings of the Lancaster dam using an auger at a depth of about 0.75 meters from the top surface. The samples were analysed using low background co-axial n-type High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector of high-resolution and the resulting spectrum were analysed using Canberra Genie software. Results: This study revealed that the activity concentration values are in the order of ²³²Th <⁴⁰K<²³⁸U in all sampling sites. A statistical analysis based on Pearson correlation showed a positive correlation between the radiological parameters and the two primordial radionuclides ²³²Th, ²³⁸U and the natural radionuclide ⁴⁰K. Conclusion: This implied that the two primordial radionuclides ²³²Th, ²³⁸U and their products of decay including the natural radionuclide ⁴⁰K contribute to the emission of gamma radiation in all the locations of the study area. The calculated ²³⁸U/²³²Th concentration ratio in soils of present study was almost six times higher compared with different countries of the world.