Natural radioactivity assessment of surface soil collected from Poovar village of Kerala, India

Abstract

Making use of gamma ray spectrometric analysis method, the activities of soil-borne radio-nuclides viz. 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in the surface soil samples from a specific village in coastal county has been determined. The surface soil of living environment in the Poovar village was used for the study. The activity concentration is used for evaluating various radiologically vital parameters such as levels of radium equivalent activity (Raeq), external hazard index (Hex), internal hazard index (Hin), absorbed gamma dose rate (D), outdoor and indoor annual effective dose (AED), representative gamma radioactivity level index (Iγ) and alpha index (Iα) in the region. The estimated radioactivity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K was observed to fluctuate from below detectable level (BDL) of the instrument to 9 Bqkg−1, 21 Bqkg−1 to 36 Bqkg−1 and 453 Bqkg−1 to 585 Bqkg−1, respectively. Since all of the samples investigated in the study are within the advised limit, there are no radiation threats to the human beings in the region. The obtained information in this research can be used for future radiological mapping and impact assessments.