²²⁶Ra and ²²²Rn concentration in groundwater samples of Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka State, India

Exposure to natural radiation is an inevitable process to human being. Naturally occurring radionuclides have been present since the formation of the Earth. As ground water is in direct contact with these radionuclides, trace amounts of dissolved radioactive elements are present in it. When the ground water is used for drinking purposes, they cause serious health issues including cancer risks. ²²⁶Ra, a naturally occurring radionuclide from the decay series of uranium has a very longer half-life. It decays into ²²²Rn by emitting alpha particles that have enough energy to damage living cells. ²²⁶Ra tends to accumulate in bones and teeth and is not metabolised by the body and only decays radiologically over time. ²²²Rn decays by emitting alpha particle that pose inhalation and ingestion dose to the population. ²²⁶Ra and ²²²Rn in water cause multiple health hazards. The values show that there is no significant health risk to general public from these radionuclides in water. A strong correlation between ²²⁶Ra and ²²²Rn concentrations are observed with adjusted R-Square value of 0.9 which indicate that they might be of same origin