²²⁶Ra,²³²Th and⁴⁰K contents in soil samples from Garhwal Himalaya, India, and its radiological implications

Abstract

The exposure of human beings to ionising radiation from natural sources is a continuing and inescapable feature of life on earth. Natural radionuclides are widely distributed in various geological formations and ecosystems such as rocks, soil groundwater and foodstuffs. In the present study, the distribution of (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K was measured in soil samples collected from different lithological units of the Thauldhar and Budhakedar regions of Garhwal Himalaya, India. The collected soil samples were analysed using gamma ray spectrometry. The activity concentrations of the naturally occurring radionuclides (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K in these soil samples were found to vary from below detection level (BDL) to 131 +/- 18 Bq kg(-1), 9 +/- 6 to 384 +/- 53 Bq kg(-1) and 471 +/- 96 to 1406 +/- 175 Bq kg(-1), respectively. The distribution of radionuclides depends upon the rock formation and chemical properties within the earth. The activity concentrations vary widely depending on the sample origin. The external absorbed gamma dose rates due to (226)Ra, (232)Th and (40)K were found to vary from 49 to 306 nGy h(-1). The average radium equivalent activity from these soil samples was 300 Bq kg(-1).

Assessment of Levels of Natural Radioactivity in Sand Samples Collected from Ekalakala in Machakos County, Kenya

“…e overall mean activity for the data in this table was calculated to be 14.3 ± 3.8, 17.3 ± 4.2, and 1300 ± 300 for 238 U, 232 , and 40 K, respectively. However, the specific activity of 40 K obtained in this study is higher than the global mean value of 420Bqkg −1 [15].…”

“…From Figure 1, the specific activity of 40 K reported in this study is lower than values reported in Narok, Kenya [10], but higher than the global average value [15] and values reported in other parts of the world [5,[11][12][13][14]. 238 U recorded in this study is lower than the worldwide mean [15] and values obtained in [5,10,13,14] but higher than values reported in [11,12].…”

“…AEDR is the equivalent biological effect representing the deposit of a joule of radiation energy per kilogram of a human body in a year. It was obtained by making use of the following equations [15,[25][26][27]:…”

Distribution of terrestrial gamma radiation dose rate in the eastern coastal area of Odisha, India

“…The particular peak of the gamma spectra was measured using the reference of 661 keV of 137 Cs. The activity concentrations in these samples were calculated from the intensity of each line in the spectrum, taking into account the mass, the geometry of the samples, the counting time and the efficiency of the detector (12) .…”

Atmospheric ²¹⁰Pb, ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Po/²¹⁰Pb activity ratio in urban aerosols: temporal variability and impact of biomass burning emission

“…Studies on soil samples from different lithological units have suggested that the distribution of radionuclides depends on rock formation, their chemical properties and sample origin (Malakhov et al, 1966;Rao et al, 1996;Levin et al, 2002;Ramola et al, 2008;Baskaran, 2011). Rani and Singh (2005) (Singh et al, 2003).…”