Assessment of occupational and public exposures due to natural radioactivity in saline soil at Panbros salt industry limited in the Accra metropolis of Ghana

This study was conducted to assess occupational and public exposures due to natural radioactivity from 238 U, 232 Th, and 40 K in saline soil at Panbros Salt Industry Limited in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Activity concentrations in samples were measured using gamma spectrometry. The average annual effective dose in an outdoor environment for an individual worker was estimated to be 0.06 mSv/year, and for a member of the public, it was estimated to be 0.05 mSv/year. These values are below the average effective dose of 0.07 mSv/year received per caput worldwide due to external terrestrial radiation outdoors, given in UNSCEAR 2000 report. The results indicate insignificant contamination of the salt mining environment, and hence the workers and the public are not exposed to any significant radiological health hazard.