Radiation doses and hazards from processing of crude oil at the Tema oil refinery in Ghana

Processing of crude oil has been carried out in Ghana for more than four decades without measures to assess the hazards associated with the naturally occurring radionuclides in the raw and processed materials. This study investigates the exposure of the public to 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in crude oil, p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Radiation protection dosimetry 2012-02, Vol.148 (3), p.318-328
Main Authors: Darko, E. O., Kpeglo, D. O., Akaho, E. H. K., Schandorf, C., Adu, P. A. S., Faanu, A., Abankwah, E., Lawluvi, H., Awudu, A. R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Crude oil
Dosimetry
Environmental Exposure - analysis
Ghana
Hazards
Humans
Industrial Waste
Occupational exposure
Oil
Petroleum
Petroleum - adverse effects
Potassium Radioisotopes - analysis
Radiation Dosage
Radiation Monitoring
Radioactive Pollutants - analysis
Radioisotopes
Radium - analysis
Refineries
Spectrometry
Spectrometry, Gamma
Thorium - analysis
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Summary:Processing of crude oil has been carried out in Ghana for more than four decades without measures to assess the hazards associated with the naturally occurring radionuclides in the raw and processed materials. This study investigates the exposure of the public to 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in crude oil, petroleum products and wastes at the Tema oil refinery in Ghana using gamma-ray spectrometry. The study shows higher activity concentrations of the natural radionuclides in the wastes than the crude oil and the products with estimated hazard indices less than unity. The values obtained in the study are within recommended limits for public exposure indicating that radiation exposure from processing of the crude oil at the refinery does not pose any significant radiological hazard but may require monitoring to establish long-term effect on both public and workers.
ISSN:0144-8420
1742-3406
DOI:10.1093/rpd/ncr088