Baseline Assessment of dose due to Natural Radionuclides in soils of coastal regions of Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

The natural radioactivity due to uranium, Thorium and potassium in soil contributes to the radiation dose received by human beings significantly. Gamma ray spectrometric measurements carried out for the natural radioactivity levels due to 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K in beach sand samples around the coast of Kanyakumari district were analyzed. For assessing the environmental radiological impact to public it is essential to evaluate the activity levels of these radionuclides. The absorbed dose rate due to natural radionuclides was also calculated and the results are reported in this paper. The total annual effective dose of the study area founds to vary between 0.94 mSv to 2.23 mSv. This study provides a baseline data of radioactivity background levels in the coastal regions of Kanyakumari district from Muttom to Midalam and will be useful to assess any changes in the radioactive background levels.