Radiation level, radionuclide distribution and mineralogy of soils in Belagavi region of Karnataka, India

ABSTRACT

The paper presents the results of systematic investigations on the gamma dose rates in air, natural radioactivity in soil and the dependence of radioactivity on the mineralogy of soils in the environs of the Belagavi, Karnataka, India. The gamma dose rates were measured using a portable survey metre and the activity in soils were measured using NaI(Tl) based gamma ray spectrometer and the mineral composition was studied using FTIR spectroscopy. The activity of ⁴⁰K varies from 72.52 to 324.76 Bq kg⁻¹ with an average of 153.17 Bq kg⁻¹. The ²²⁶Ra activity varies from 16.53 to 70.53 Bq kg⁻¹ with an average value of 23.88 Bq kg⁻¹ and the activity of ²³²Th varies from 10.95 to 59.07 Bq kg⁻¹ with an average value of 25.75 Bq kg⁻¹. Elevated levels of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in soils were observed in some part of Belagavi, which was traced to the mineralogy of the region. The higher activity of natural radionuclides poses radiological implications to the population of the region. The activity utilisation index was found to be is above the normal levels in some locations. The pattern of distribution of radionuclides in the region was studied using SPSS statistical software. The soil with clay minerals Haematite, Calcite, Kalonite, Albite and Feldspar showed higher radionuclide content.

KEYWORDS:

• Belagavi
• soils
• radionuclides
• radiation hazards
• correlation
• FTIR analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).