Evaluation of NORM and Associated Radiological Hazards at Mada Walabu and Eastern Walabu District in Eastern Borena Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia

Evaluation of NORM and Associated Radiological Hazards at Mada Walabu and Eastern Walabu District in Eastern Borena Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Evaluation of NORM and Associated Radiological Hazards at Mada Walabu and Eastern Walabu District in Eastern Borena Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia Jemal Edris Dawd This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7976412/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This research was aimed to investigate the presence of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORMs) mainly uranium-238 (U-238), thorium-232 (Th-232), and potassium-40 (K-40) in soil and water samples from artisanal mining and farmland areas in Madawalabu and Eastern Walabu Woreda. Using a High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector, the research aimed to quantify activity concentrations, assess radiological hazard indices, and estimate excess lifetime cancer risk. The results revealed that soil samples from artisanal mining sites exhibited remarkably elevated activity concentrations of U-238 (123 ± 6.12 Bq/kg), Th-232 (150 ± 11.01 Bq/kg), and K-40 (717 ± 34.29 Bq/kg), all greater than global averages. Corresponding radiological hazards also exceeded the permissible world limits, with calculated values such as D (177.057 nGy/h), Eγ,ext (0.22 mSv/y), and CRlifetime (7.76×10⁻⁴). In contrary, farmland soils showed slight elevations for Th-232 and K-40, but U-238 remained below global limits. Some hazard indices—like D (68.55 nGy/h) and Iγ (1.106) were exceeded permissible levels, while others remained within permissible limits. Water sample analysis found no detectable U-238 but measured Th-232 (1.825 ± 0.745 Bq/l), exceeding WHO guidelines, and K-40 (14.75 Bq/l), for which no limit is specified by WHO guidelines. Radiological risks from water remained low, though CRlifetime still slightly above the permissible world limits. Employing the Linear No-threshold radiation model, the study emphasized potential long-term health risks in exposed populations. Key recommendations included continuous radiation monitoring with Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dosimeters, public awareness initiatives, relocation of vulnerable residents, restrict mining site access, and on-site use of portable HPGe detectors for future assessments. Environmental Chemistry Nuclear Chemistry NORM Radiation Protection Artisanal mine Environmental contamination hazard indices Lifetime cancer risk Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7976412","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":536687136,"identity":"cfcb2145-0b4b-45e3-9da8-b982a7ab201c","order_by":0,"name":"Jemal Edris 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Authority","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"NORM, Radiation Protection, Artisanal mine, Environmental contamination, hazard indices, Lifetime cancer risk","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7976412/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7976412/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis research was aimed to investigate the presence of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORMs) mainly uranium-238 (U-238), thorium-232 (Th-232), and potassium-40 (K-40) in soil and water samples from artisanal mining and farmland areas in Madawalabu and Eastern Walabu Woreda. Using a High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector, the research aimed to quantify activity concentrations, assess radiological hazard indices, and estimate excess lifetime cancer risk. The results revealed that soil samples from artisanal mining sites exhibited remarkably elevated activity concentrations of U-238 (123\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;6.12 Bq/kg), Th-232 (150\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;11.01 Bq/kg), and K-40 (717\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;34.29 Bq/kg), all greater than global averages. Corresponding radiological hazards also exceeded the permissible world limits, with calculated values such as D (177.057 nGy/h), Eγ,ext (0.22 mSv/y), and CRlifetime (7.76\u0026times;10⁻⁴). In contrary, farmland soils showed slight elevations for Th-232 and K-40, but U-238 remained below global limits. Some hazard indices\u0026mdash;like D (68.55 nGy/h) and Iγ (1.106) were exceeded permissible levels, while others remained within permissible limits. Water sample analysis found no detectable U-238 but measured Th-232 (1.825\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.745 Bq/l), exceeding WHO guidelines, and K-40 (14.75 Bq/l), for which no limit is specified by WHO guidelines. Radiological risks from water remained low, though CRlifetime still slightly above the permissible world limits. Employing the Linear No-threshold radiation model, the study emphasized potential long-term health risks in exposed populations. Key recommendations included continuous radiation monitoring with Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dosimeters, public awareness initiatives, relocation of vulnerable residents, restrict mining site access, and on-site use of portable HPGe detectors for future assessments.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Evaluation of NORM and Associated Radiological Hazards at Mada Walabu and Eastern Walabu District in Eastern Borena Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-30 08:09:45","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7976412/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"9ed8917e-cba2-4656-bdc0-de4bf599f8c2","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 30th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":57067521,"name":"Environmental Chemistry"},{"id":57067522,"name":"Nuclear Chemistry"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-10-30T08:09:46+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-30 08:09:45","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7976412","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7976412","identity":"rs-7976412","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}