Activity concentrations of radionuclides from Poombuhar to Karaikal of East Coast of Tamilnadu, India using gamma ray spectrometry

In this study, the gamma radiation has been measured to determine the natural radioactivity of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K in collected sediment samples from Poombuhar to Karaikal of East Coast of Tamilnadu using NaI(Tl) detector. The mean activity concentration is 36.81. 50.10 and 320.38 Bq kg^-1 for ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K respectively. Variation in concentration of natural radionuclides at different sampling locations could be attributed to organic matter content and sediment particle size. These results were used to calculate the radiation hazard parameters like activity utilization index (AUI) internal hazard index (H_in) to estimate the level of gamma radiation hazard associated with the natural radionuclides in sediments. The obtained radiological parameters values are within the internationally approved values and safety limits. The findings from this research work would be useful to evaluate the population exposure from radio nuclides in the study area. (author)