Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Physics

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Natural Radioactivity, Radon Exhalation Rates and Radiation Doses in the Soil Samples Collected from the Vicinity of Kolaghat Thermal Power Plant, West Bengal, India


Affiliations
1 Department of Applied Science, Vivekananda College of Technology and Management, Aligarh 202 001, U P, India
2 Department of Physics, Dr B.R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar 144 027, Punjab, India
3 Department of Applied Physics, Z H College of Engineering, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202 001, U P, India
4 Department of Geology & Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721 302, West Bengal, India
5 Department of Physics, Sri T R Girls PG College, Aligarh 202 001, U P, India
 

Natural radioactivity has been determined by means of a highly efficient thallium-doped sodium iodide detector in soil sample from surface of from vicinage of “Kolaghat Thermal Power Plant” The activity concentration (specific activity) is found to vary from 23.70 ± 3.41 to 33.90 ± 4.33 Bqkg-1 for 226Ra, from 6.67 ± 2.01 to 21.60 ± 2.11 Bqkg-1 for 232Th and that for 40K from 461.01 ± 66.16 to 610.25 ± 80.87 Bqkg-1 with expected value of 29.26 ± 3.50, 4.86 ± 2.03 and 517.53 ± 71.61 Bqkg-1 of Radium-226, Thorium-232 and Potassium-40 correspondingly. The radon exhalation rates were also computed from all samples using the "Sealed Can Technique”. The activity due to radon fluctuates from 47.9 ± 6.2 to 157.6 ± 11.3 Bqm-3 having an arithmetic mean of 89.3 ± 7.9 Bqm-3. The surface exhalation rate and mass exhalation rates were estimated to fluctuate from 17.3 ± 2.2 to 56.8 ± 4.1 mBqm-2h-1 with an expectation of 32.1 ±\± 3.0 mBqm-2h-1 and from 0.6 ± 0.1 to 2.1 ± 0.2 mBqkg-1h-1 averaged out to 1.2 ± 0.1 mBqkg-1h-1 respectively. Radiation doses were also calculated in these samples. Indoor and outdoor annual effective doses, Absorbed dose rates, External Hazard index and Indoor inhalation exposure, also known as radon effective dose, was computed and varied from 0.19 to 0.25 mSv y-1, 39.30 to 51.61 nGyh-1, 0.048 to 0.063 mSvy-1, 0.21 to 0.28 and 0.29 to 0.36 and 2.04 to 6.70 μSvy-1 respectively. The values which were obtained in this study are found to be well below the allowed permissible limits, so the soil may be used as building construction material.

Keywords

NaI(Tl), Hazard Index, Annual Effective Dose, Radon Activity, Gamma Radiation Representation Level Index.
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  • Natural Radioactivity, Radon Exhalation Rates and Radiation Doses in the Soil Samples Collected from the Vicinity of Kolaghat Thermal Power Plant, West Bengal, India

Abstract Views: 89  |  PDF Views: 53

Authors

Roshan Lal Sharma
Department of Applied Science, Vivekananda College of Technology and Management, Aligarh 202 001, U P, India
Ajay Kumar Mahur
Department of Applied Science, Vivekananda College of Technology and Management, Aligarh 202 001, U P, India
Rohit Mehra
Department of Physics, Dr B.R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar 144 027, Punjab, India
Sansar Chand
Department of Physics, Dr B.R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar 144 027, Punjab, India
S. Asad Ali
Department of Applied Physics, Z H College of Engineering, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202 001, U P, India
D. Sen Gupta
Department of Geology & Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721 302, West Bengal, India
Hargyan Singh
Department of Physics, Sri T R Girls PG College, Aligarh 202 001, U P, India

Abstract


Natural radioactivity has been determined by means of a highly efficient thallium-doped sodium iodide detector in soil sample from surface of from vicinage of “Kolaghat Thermal Power Plant” The activity concentration (specific activity) is found to vary from 23.70 ± 3.41 to 33.90 ± 4.33 Bqkg-1 for 226Ra, from 6.67 ± 2.01 to 21.60 ± 2.11 Bqkg-1 for 232Th and that for 40K from 461.01 ± 66.16 to 610.25 ± 80.87 Bqkg-1 with expected value of 29.26 ± 3.50, 4.86 ± 2.03 and 517.53 ± 71.61 Bqkg-1 of Radium-226, Thorium-232 and Potassium-40 correspondingly. The radon exhalation rates were also computed from all samples using the "Sealed Can Technique”. The activity due to radon fluctuates from 47.9 ± 6.2 to 157.6 ± 11.3 Bqm-3 having an arithmetic mean of 89.3 ± 7.9 Bqm-3. The surface exhalation rate and mass exhalation rates were estimated to fluctuate from 17.3 ± 2.2 to 56.8 ± 4.1 mBqm-2h-1 with an expectation of 32.1 ±\± 3.0 mBqm-2h-1 and from 0.6 ± 0.1 to 2.1 ± 0.2 mBqkg-1h-1 averaged out to 1.2 ± 0.1 mBqkg-1h-1 respectively. Radiation doses were also calculated in these samples. Indoor and outdoor annual effective doses, Absorbed dose rates, External Hazard index and Indoor inhalation exposure, also known as radon effective dose, was computed and varied from 0.19 to 0.25 mSv y-1, 39.30 to 51.61 nGyh-1, 0.048 to 0.063 mSvy-1, 0.21 to 0.28 and 0.29 to 0.36 and 2.04 to 6.70 μSvy-1 respectively. The values which were obtained in this study are found to be well below the allowed permissible limits, so the soil may be used as building construction material.

Keywords


NaI(Tl), Hazard Index, Annual Effective Dose, Radon Activity, Gamma Radiation Representation Level Index.

References