Case Studies

Ambient Radiation Hazard Assessment and Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk Estimation Across Five Active Solid Mineral Mining Sites

An independent radiological baseline survey was commissioned across five active solid mineral extraction sites in Kogi State, Nigeria — spanning gold, feldspar-mica, limestone, iron ore, and coal deposits — to characterise ambient background ionising radiation and quantify occupational and community health risk against ICRP and UNSCEAR international benchmarks.

Using calibrated Radalert 100 and Digilert 200 nuclear radiation monitors deployed at standardised height across GPS-referenced sampling grids (Garmin GPSMAP 76S), ODEIS measured background ionising radiation across all five jurisdictions and derived absorbed dose rates, Annual Effective Dose Equivalents (AEDE), and Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) indices for each mine site and its surrounding host community.

Absorbed dose rates across all sites (159.7–251.9 nGy/h) exceeded the world permissible average of 89 nGy/h. ELCR values of 0.86–1.35 × 10³ exceeded the world permissible value at all sites, with coal and feldspar-mica zones presenting the highest long-term radiological burden on resident populations. A geospatial radiation contour map was produced for the entire study region, identifying high-exposure zones and informing targeted intervention priorities. Annual effective dose equivalents remained within safe absolute thresholds across all sites, providing a defensible basis for community reassurance and regulatory reporting.

Findings established site-specific radiological baselines, informed occupational exposure monitoring requirements under ALARA principles, and provided evidence-based guidance for regulatory engagement on mining community health impacts. Results were benchmarked against peer studies from the Niger Delta, Benue State, and South Western Nigeria, providing authoritative comparative context for national-level policy assessment.

Infectious Disease Surveillance Dashboard for NHS Trust

An NHS trust operating across three hospital sites needed to consolidate fragmented infection surveillance data into a single, real-time intelligence platform. ODEIS built a Power BI-based dashboard integrating laboratory, ward admission, and environmental sampling data, with automated anomaly alerts. Response coordination time fell by 28% in the first six months post-deployment.

Air Quality Predictive Model for Local Authority Network

Twelve urban boroughs sought to move from reactive monitoring to proactive public health management. ODEIS developed a machine learning model fusing satellite imagery, Copernicus atmospheric data, traffic sensor feeds, and meteorological records to forecast hourly air quality indices 24 hours in advance. The model now drives automated public alerts and informs planning decisions across the network.

Radioactivity Baseline Survey of Mining-Impacted Soil and Sediment: Gross Alpha and Beta Characterisation Across Five Mineral Extraction Typologies

A systematic environmental radioactivity baseline programme was deployed across five geologically distinct solid mineral extraction zones in Kogi State, Nigeria — gold, feldspar-mica, limestone, iron ore, and coal — to quantify gross alpha and beta activity concentrations in surface soil and river sediment, and to determine whether active mining operations were elevating naturally occurring radioactivity above measurable background levels.

Thirty-nine samples — comprising 20 surface soil specimens, 5 soil control samples from host communities, 5 host-rock mineral samples, and 9 river sediment samples — were collected, processed to standard under oven-drying and hermetic-sealing protocols, and analysed using a Protean Instrument Corporation MPC 2000DP gas proportional counter at an accredited analytical facility, calibrated against Pu-239 (alpha) and Sr-90 (beta) certified reference sources.

Mean gross alpha activity in surface soil ranged from 12.94 ± 6.88 Bq/kg at limestone sites to 33.52 ± 8.20 Bq/kg at gold sites. Beta activities were consistently higher across all typologies, peaking at 69.76 ± 11.88 Bq/kg at coal extraction zones. Critically, a strongly significant correlation between soil and sediment radioactivity at coal sites (R² = 0.93–0.97 for alpha and beta respectively) confirmed physical weathering of mineral rock as the primary contamination pathway into the aquatic environment — a finding with direct implications for downstream water quality management, sediment transport modelling, and aquatic ecosystem risk assessment.

Activity concentrations across most sites were demonstrably lower than equivalent baselines from oil-producing regions in Rivers State, Nigeria, where alpha activities reached 152–322 Bq/kg — providing a statistically grounded basis for regulatory reassurance. Findings were delivered as a certified baseline dataset supporting the client’s long-term environmental monitoring programme and informing radiological threshold-setting in alignment with international environmental radioactivity guidelines.

Automated Health Needs Assessment Framework for Local Authority

A county council's public health team was spending an average of 14 weeks producing statutory health needs assessments. ODEIS built an automated data pipeline integrating ONS, NHS Digital, and OHID datasets with a templated reporting engine, reducing production time to under four weeks while dramatically improving the currency and granularity of insight available to commissioners.

Unified Environmental Data Platform for Research Consortium

A multi-institution research consortium was managing ecological survey data across eleven incompatible formats and four separate databases. ODEIS designed and built a unified cloud data platform with standardised ingestion pipelines, a master data catalogue, and role-based access controls — enabling cross-institutional analysis at scale for the first time.