Environmental Health Consequences of Informal Uranium Mining and Processing in Plateau State, North Central Nigeria

Nigeria harbors significant uranium deposits in Plateau State, and informal artisanal uranium prospecting and processing activities, largely operating outside regulatory oversight, generate radioactive and chemical hazards whose environmental health consequences have never been systematically investigated. This dissertation provides the first comprehensive investigation of environmental health consequences of informal uranium-related activities in Mika, Toro, and Lere areas of Plateau State, North Central Nigeria. A radiological and chemical environmental assessment was combined with an epidemiological community health study in a convergent mixed-methods design. Gamma dose rate measurements were conducted across forty-eight sites using portable scintillation detectors. Environmental samples of water, soil, and dust were analyzed for uranium, radium-226, thorium-232, and associated heavy metals. Radon gas concentrations were measured in forty household interiors using passive alpha track detectors. A case-control study compared health outcomes between 250 community members in mining-proximate communities and 250 controls from non-mining communities, with biomarker collection including urinary uranium, serum creatinine, and complete blood counts. Results showed gamma dose rates exceeding the public dose limit of 1 mSv/year in forty-three percent of monitored sites. Indoor radon concentrations exceeded the WHO reference level of 100 Bq/m3 in sixty-seven percent of measured households. Urinary uranium was significantly elevated in exposed versus control community members. Elevated rates of renal biomarker abnormalities and anemia were documented in mining-proximate communities. The dissertation fills a critical evidence gap and makes an original contribution to radiation environmental health science in Nigeria. Keywords: uranium mining, radioactive contamination, radon, Plateau State, radiological health.