title: Assessments of radioactivity concentration of natural radionuclides and radiological hazard indices in sediment samples from the East coast of Tamilnadu, India with statistical approach.
abstract: This paper reports on the distribution of three natural radionuclides (238)U, (232)Th and (40)K in coastal sediments from Pattipulam to Devanampattinam along the East coast of Tamilnadu to establish baseline data for future environmental monitoring. Sediment samples were collected by a Peterson grab samples from 10m water depth parallel to the shore line. Concentration of natural radionuclides were determined using a NaI(Tl) detector based γ-spectrometry. The mean activity concentration is ⩽2.21, 14.29 and 360.23Bqkg(-1) for (238)U, (232)Th and (40)K, respectively. The average activity of (232)Th, (238)U and (40)K is lower when compared to the world average value. Radiological hazard parameters were estimated based on the activity concentrations of (238)U, (232)Th and (40)K to find out any radiation hazard associated with the sediments. The radiological hazard parameters such as radium equivalent activity (Raeq), absorbed gamma dose rates in air (DR), the annual gonadal dose equivalent (AGDE), annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE), external hazard index (Hex) internal hazard index (Hin), activity utilization index (AUI) and excess lifetime cancer (ELCR) associated with the radionuclides were calculated and compared with internationally approved values and the recommended safety limits. Pearson correlation, principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) have been applied in order to recognize and classify radiological parameters in sediments collected at 22 sites on East coast of Tamilnadu. The values of radiation hazard parameters were comparable to the world averages and below the recommended values. Therefore, coastal sediments do not to pose any significant radiological health risk to the people living in nearby areas along East coast of Tamilnadu. The data obtained in this study will serve as a baseline data in natural radionuclide concentration in sediments along the coastal East coast of Tamilnadu.
authors.affiliation: PG & Research Department of Physics, Government Arts College, Thiruvannamalai 606603, Tamil Nadu, India. Electronic address: ravisankarphysics@gmail.com.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ravisankar
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, E.G.S. Pillay Engineering College, Nagapattinam 611002, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chandramohan
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, SSN College of Engineering, Kalavakkam, Chennai 603110, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chandrasekaran
authors.affiliation: Coastal and Environmental Engineering, National Institute of Ocean Technology, Pallikaranai, Chennai 600100, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Prince Prakash Jebakumar
authors.affiliation: Radiological Safety Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vijayalakshmi
authors.affiliation: Radiological Safety Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vijayagopal
authors.affiliation: Radiological Safety Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam 603102, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Venkatraman
mesh_terms: D001417:Background Radiation; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000032:analysis*; D007194:India; D011197:Potassium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis; D013051:Spectrometry, Gamma; D013910:Thorium / Q000032:analysis*; D014501:Uranium / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D015386:Hazardous Substances; D011197:Potassium Radioisotopes; D011868:Radioisotopes; D014501:Uranium; D013910:Thorium
keywords: Gamma ray spectrometry; Multivariate statistical analysis; Natural radioactivity; Radiological parameters; Sediment