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PHD THESIS REVIEW |
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| Year : 2019 | Volume
: 44
| Issue : 1 | Page : 70 |
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Study on measurement of environmental radioactivity and assessment of radiological hazards in Kashmir Valley
Gopiraj Annamalai
Department of Radiology Physics, Barnard Institute of Radiology and Oncology, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Madras Medical College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| Date of Web Publication | 11-Mar-2019 |
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Gopiraj Annamalai
Barnard Institute of Radiology and Oncology, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Madras Medical College, Chennai - 600 003, Tamil Nadu
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/jmp.JMP_124_18
How to cite this article:
Annamalai G. Study on measurement of environmental radioactivity and assessment of radiological hazards in Kashmir Valley. J Med Phys 2019;44:70 |
How to cite this URL:
Annamalai G. Study on measurement of environmental radioactivity and assessment of radiological hazards in Kashmir Valley. J Med Phys [serial online] 2019 [cited 2023 Mar 31];44:70. Available from: https://www.jmp.org.in/text.asp?2019/44/1/70/253806 |
Author: Mudasir Ashraf Shah, School of Advanced Studies, VIT University, Vellore
Title: Study on Measurement of Environmental Radioactivity and Assessment of Radiological Hazards in Kashmir Valley
Pages: 115
Chief Guide: Dr. C. Anuradha, Associate Professor, School of Advanced Studies, VIT University, Vellore
Date of Award: 16.08.2018
A pilot study was carried out in and around lignite belt of Nichahoma, Kupwara, and Kashmir to establish baseline background radiation data and to ascertain the radiological health hazards due to natural background radiation. The radiometric analyses were performed for the three different types of the samples: lignite (LG) samples, soil of the lignite belt (LS), and soil of the residential area adjacent to the lignite belt (VS) collected randomly in and around the lignite belt with the help of a low-background lead-shielded gamma-spectroscopic counting assembly utilizing NAI detector in order to determine the radioactivity concentrations of Ra 226, Th 232, and K 40. The radium equivalent activity (Raeq), absorbed dose rate in air at 1 m, external hazard indices, internal hazard indices, and annual gonadal dose equivalent in the investigated samples were also determined from the measured radioactive concentrations of the samples. The author reported that the mean activity concentration of Ra 226 from the samples of soil of lignite belt (LS) and soil of villages surrounding the lignite belt (VS) was 52.9 and 56.6 Bq/Kg, respectively, which is higher than the Indian average value of 16 Bq/Kg and the world average value of 50 Bq/Kg. Further, the activity of Th 232 from the sample of soil of village surrounding the lignite belt (VS) was 75 Bq/Kg, which was again higher than the world average value of 50 Bq/Kg. The average values of K 40 are well below the world average. The difference in the specific radionuclide concentrations in the soil may be related to the underlying bedrock types and local geology of the study area. In the present study, the average absorbed dose rate due to (VS) soil samples (soil of the residential area adjacent to the lignite belt) is 72.1 nGy/h, which was higher than the global value of 51 nGy/h. The mean value of annual effective dose for the (VS) soil was 0.09 mSv/y, which was also higher than the value of 0.07 mSv/y given by the UNSCEAR. A correlation analysis between activity concentrations of Ra 226, Th 232, and K 40 in the various environmental samples and their significant effect in the measured dose rate was analyzed.
The excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) was determined for the soil of the lignite belt (LS), soil of the residential area (VS), adjacent to the lignite belt, and for lignite samples (LG). The average ELCR for (LS), VS, and LG samples are 0.61 × 10−3, 0.68 × 10−3, and 1.25 × 10−3, respectively, which was found to be relatively higher than the world average value of 0.29 × 10−3. The ANOVA analysis predicts that there exists a significant homogeneity between the ELCR for lignite (LG) and ELCR for soil of the villages (VS) with P < 0.001 and ELCR for soil of the villages (VS) and ELCR for surface soil of the lignite belt (LS) with P < 0.001. The nonsignificant homogeneity was found between ELCR (LS) and ELCR (LG) with P= 0.07 at 95% level of significance.
The outcome of this work indicates that the radioactive concentrations and the ELCR in the area of the study are higher than the world average values which may cause radiological hazards to the general public. Further analyses and studies are needed to assess the real risk for human health.
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