Application of residual radioactivity codes in dose and risk calculation problems encountered in Nigeria

Residual radioactivity (RESRAD) codes developed at Argonne national laboratory are used to calculate the site-specified radiation dose and/or risk to an individual residing or working in the contaminated or a supposedly contaminated site. Typical examples of supposedly radioactive areas in Nigeria are mining areas, milling areas, granitic areas and quarries. The codes allow users to specify their site specific data, exposure data as well as exposure routes and pathways in order to predict the dose received by an individual at any time over the next 100,000 years. The codes can perform calculation of doses to persons inside radioactively contaminated building, environmental transport and risk analyses of hazardous chemicals, dose and risk calculations from radionuclide and chemical concentrations, calculation of doses to persons located beyond the boundary of the site, calculations of doses to workers and members of the general public from the recycle of materials containing traces of radioactive materials as well as calculations on risks to ecological receptors from exposure to hazardous chemicals. This paper discusses the strength and weaknesses of the RESRAD codes and further explains how to use them in performing typical dose and risk calculation problems encountered in Nigerian context.