en Radiation Biology Radiation Biology گزارش کوتاه Short Report <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Background:</strong> Human activities such as mining enhance the radioactivity levels above normal background which can lead to an incremental increase in the radiation risk to the population. <strong>Materials and Methods:</strong> 20 tailing enriched soil samples collected around Maiganga coal mine, Gombe, Northeast Nigeria were assessed for their ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K contents using HPGe gamma-ray detector. <strong>Results:</strong> The mean activity values of 11.90&plusmn;3.0, 17.72&plusmn;3.6 and 70.44&plusmn;20.4 Bq kg^-1 were obtained for ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K respectively. These values were below the world average values documented by UNSCEAR. The ratio of ²³²Th:²²⁶Ra obtained was 1.5, which showed that ²³²Th activity was higher than the activity of ²²⁶Ra while ⁴⁰K recorded the highest activity concentration in the studied samples. Statistical analysis identified strong positive relationships among all radiological parameters and confirmed that ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K were the major contributors to radiation dose. Radium equivalent activity (Ra_eq), absorbed gamma dose rate (D_R), annual effective dose (AEDE), activity utilization index (AUI), external and internal hazard indices (H_ex and H_in), gamma representative index (I_&gamma;r), annual gonadal dose (AGDE) and excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) were calculated to quantify the radiation risk to the public from exposure to ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in the studied samples. The mean values of these hazard parameters were within the acceptable limits provided for human safety and environmental protection. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> The use of the tailing enriched soil samples of Maiganga coal mine for any purpose whatsoever does not therefore pose any immediate radiological risk to the coal workers or the general public.</p> <p></p> Maiganga coal mine, tailings, HPGe detector, absorbed dose, excess lifetime cancer risk. 71 80 http://ijrr.com/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-651&slc_lang=en&sid=1 M. T. Kolo 790031947532846009918 790031947532846009918 No Department of Physics, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Y. M. Amin 790031947532846009919 790031947532846009919 No Department of Physics, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia M. U. Khandaker mu_khandaker@yahoo.com 790031947532846009920 790031947532846009920 No Department of Physics, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia W. H. B. Abdullah 790031947532846009921 790031947532846009921 Yes Department of Geology, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia