Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part E (2025)

Water is estimated to be between 90 - 95% of all beverage products globally, following the rise in beverage consumption worldwide it is necessary that the radiological safety of water be established to avert future related health implications. Gross alpha/beta activity in underground water samples from various beverage plants in southeast, Nigeria has been determined using a low background gas-less gross alpha/beta counting system (Canberra iMaticTM) with Passivated implanted planar silicon (PIPS) detector. The sample collection, evaporation and counting followed strictly EPA (900.0) method. The results indicate that the gross alpha (Bq/L) in Enugu, Anambra, Imo and Abia are 0.00382, 0.00206, 0.00165 and 0.00425 while gross beta (Bq/L) includes 0.0592, 0.0536, 0.0636 and 0.0711 respectively. The annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE) in (µSv/yr) due to gross alpha-emitting radionuclides in water sample from the entire southeast are 0.506, 1.202, 2.406 for infants, children and adults respectively while AEDE related to beta emitters for infants, children and adults are 31.14, 62.2 and 124.5 respectively. One-ANOVA test indicates that the mean gross alpha and gross beta across the four states are not statically significant (p>0.005). All the determined gross alpha activities are lower than the gross beta activities. Additionally, the reported values of gross alpha, beta and AEDE are all below the recommended safe levels, indicative of very low radiological risks hence water from the plants is good for human consumption.