Radon exhalation rate and uranium estimation study of some soil and rock samples from Tusham ring complex, India using SSNTD technique

Abstract

Besides uranium and radium, radon exhalation rate is also a crucial factor for radon emanation from ground or building material. In the present study uranium concentration and radon exhalation rate in the wide range of soil and rock samples collected from Tusham ring complex, Haryana, known to be composed of acid volcanics and the associated high heat producing granites, have been estimated. For comparative analysis, the soil samples from some districts of Punjab have also been analysed for uranium estimation and radon exhalation rate. The ‘can’ technique using plastic track detectors LR-115 type-II has been used for radon exhalation rate measurement, whereas the ‘Fission track registration’ technique has been employed for uranium content determination in these samples. The 222Rn exhalation rate in weathered granite area of the Tusham ring complex shows a maximum value of 63.76 Bq kg - 1 h - 1 , whereas the maximum value for uranium content has been found to be around 62.02 ppm. The corresponding values of exhalation rate and uranium content in the soil samples of this region are 11.54 Bq kg - 1 h - 1 and 13.41 ppm, respectively. A positive correlation between radon exhalation rate and uranium concentration has been observed for both soil and rock samples under the present investigation.