Abstract
A car-borne survey was carried out in Kerala, India to estimate external dose. Measurements were made with a 3-in × 3-in NaI(Tl) scintillation spectrometer from September 23 to 27, 2013. The routes were selected from 12 Panchayats in Karunagappally Taluk which were classified into high level, mid-level and low level high background radiation (HBR) areas. A heterogeneous distribution of air kerma rates was seen in the dose rate distribution map. The maximum air kerma rate, 2.1 μGy/h, was observed on a beach sand surface. 232Th activity concentration for the beach sand was higher than that for soil and grass surfaces, and the range of activity concentration was estimated to be 0.7–2.3 kBq/kg. The contribution of 232Th to air kerma rate was over 70% at the measurement points with values larger than 0.34 μGy/h. The maximum value of the annual effective dose in Karunagappally Taluk was observed around coastal areas, and it was estimated to be 13 mSv/y. More than 30% of all the annual effective doses obtained in this survey exceeded 1 mSv/y.
Highlights
Large amounts of artificial radionuclides were released from the reactor buildings into the environment by the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident [1]
The dose rate distribution map showed a heterogeneous distribution of the air kerma rates
Air kerma rates of over 0.5 μGy/h were distributed along coastal areas
Summary
Large amounts of artificial radionuclides were released from the reactor buildings into the environment by the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident [1]. In a 2013 report, the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) reported that no apparent increase of cancer incidence due to this accident is expected in the future [5]. The biological effects due to radiation exposure have become a large concern among Japanese residents. A review paper was published on the effects of natural variation in natural radionuclides on humans, animals and other organisms [6]. Since the available studies are few in number it is difficult to conclude what the effect is of chronic exposure by low level radiation.
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