Title: Natural radioactivity and radiological hazard assessment of coal samples collected from Kasimpur thermal power plant, Kasimpur (U.P.), India

Authors: Anil Sharma; R.G. Sonkawade; Avinash C. Sharma

Addresses: School of Physical Science, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow 226025, Uttar Pradesh, India; University School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi 110403, India ' Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur 416004, Maharashtra, India ' University School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi 110403, India

Abstract: Low-level gamma ray spectroscopy with a NaI (TI) gamma radiation detector was used for the measurement of activity concentrations of radionuclides ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K. Activity concentrations of radium were found to vary from 12 to 39 Bq kg⁻¹, thorium ranged from 15 to 49 Bq kg⁻¹ whereas ⁴⁰K ranged from 157 to 460 Bq kg⁻¹. Radium equivalent activity has been found to vary from 50.8 to 118 Bq kg⁻¹ and absorbed gamma dose rates varied from 24 to 53.2 nGy h⁻¹ whereas corresponding outdoor annual effective dose found to vary from 0.029 to 0.065 mSv y⁻¹. The calculated values of H_ex and H_in range from 0.13 to 0.31 and 0.16 to 0.41 respectively whereas values of gamma and alpha index vary from 0.19 to 0.42 and 0.06 to 0.19 respectively. The values of hazard index are under the action limit.

Keywords: natural radioactivity; radium equivalent activity; absorbed dose rate; gamma ray spectroscopy; radiological hazard assessment; coal samples; thermal power plants; India; radionuclides; low radiation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLR.2015.074412

International Journal of Low Radiation, 2015 Vol.10 No.2, pp.134 - 142

Received: 06 Mar 2015
Accepted: 20 Jul 2015
Published online: 28 Jan 2016 *

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