Investigation on Environmental Alpha Radioactivity around Jaduguda Uranium Mine – An Experimental Study along Subarnarekha River | Chapter 2 | Modern Advances in Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences Vol. 7

 The mining effect is projected to raise the level of radioactivity in the environmental matrices near mine sites. The presence of a river near the mine regions increases the risk of the elevated level of radioactive contamination spreading far into the surrounding areas. Our earlier research has shown that the effect of the Jaduguda uranium mine increases alpha radioactivity in the water of the Subarnarekha River. As a result, the concern arises as to whether the accompanying materials such as soil, sand, and gravel along Subarnarekha's river course will also be contaminated with radionuclides. Because these things are frequently utilised as building materials, such pollution will have a significant negative impact on public health. For this, a vast number of soil, sand, stone, and gravel samples were collected from various points along the Subarnarekha river course, beginning near Jaduguda and ending at the river mouth, and their alpha radioactivity was measured using LR-115 SSNTDs. For gravel, stone, sand, and soil samples, the observed alpha radioactivity ranged from 55 to 2116 Bq.kg(-1), 283 to 760 Bq.kg(-1), 933 to 2075 Bq.kg(-1), and 979 to 1924 Bq.kg(-1). The soil samples had the highest radioactivity of all the samples in the majority of the locations, and the average radioactivities of the soil and sand samples are greater than those of the gravel and stone samples. The alpha radioactivity of soil and sand samples is found to be connected with the distance from Jaduguda along the Subarnarekha river, but not for gravel and stone samples. The current research is the first to quantify and analyse radioactivity patterns in soil, sand, stone, and gravel along the Subarnarekha river path. This research discloses certain noteworthy facts that are essential not just from an academic standpoint, but also for the health of the local population.

Author(S) Details

Biswajit Das
Department of Physics, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore – 721 102, Dist. – Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India and School of Studies in Environmental Radiation and Archaeological Sciences, Jadavpur University, Kolkata – 700 032, West Bengal, India.

Argha Deb
School of Studies in Environmental Radiation and Archaeological Sciences, Jadavpur University, Kolkata – 700 032, West Bengal, India and Nuclear and Particle Physics Research Centre, Department of Physics, Jadavpur University, Kolkata – 700 032, West Bengal, India.

View Book:- https://stm.bookpi.org/MAGEES-V7/article/view/5091