{"title":"Environmental radioactivity, radiological hazards, and trace elements assessment of nearshore sediment in the Bay of Bengal","authors":"Manikanda Bharath Karuppasamy , Usha Natesan , Chandrasekaran Seethapathy , Srinivasalu Seshachalam","doi":"10.1016/j.ijsrc.2023.12.002","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The current study focuses on the environmental radioactivity and multi-risk assessment of nearshore sediment as a source of marine pollution along the Bay of Bengal. The study examines the distribution of primordial radionuclide concentrations using a thallium-activated sodium iodide (NaI(Tl)) detector-based gamma-ray spectrometer and Potentially Toxic Elements (PTE) through atomic adsorption analysis. The data also were used to characterize ecological threats, radiological risks, and the geospatial distribution of toxic compounds in nearshore sediment as a proxy for marine pollution. The active concentration of primordial radionuclides such as uranium-238 (<sup>238</sup>U), thorium-232 (<sup>232</sup>Th), and potassium-40 (<sup>40</sup>K) was found in the range from ≤ 3 to 68 (11.4), ≤ 9.5 to 142.7 (41.2), and 85.2 to 603.4 (362) Bq/kg, and the results show that the average radioactive concentration of the average radionuclides was less than suggested by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) ranges. Potentially toxic elements iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) were higher in deeper water depths. The current study reveals that mud distribution primarily controls such elements. A decreasing order has been seen as follows by the ecological risk index of individual elements: copper (Cu) > lead (Pb) > nickel (Ni) > chromium (Cr) > zinc (Zn). The significant Pb, Cu, and Zn concentrations indicated high pollution at most stations, possibly resulting from regional and terrestrial sources such as industrial activity, urban drainage, manufacturing, and farming. The migration of contaminated soil from the industrial and transportation sectors may be the source of the increased levels of hazardous elements and naturally occurring radionuclides in the sediment transported into the coastal ecosystems of Bay of Bengal.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":50290,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Sediment Research","volume":"39 1","pages":"Pages 70-82"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1001627923000768/pdfft?md5=a4f09b230f928780349c04f7a394fcbb&pid=1-s2.0-S1001627923000768-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Sediment Research","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1001627923000768","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The current study focuses on the environmental radioactivity and multi-risk assessment of nearshore sediment as a source of marine pollution along the Bay of Bengal. The study examines the distribution of primordial radionuclide concentrations using a thallium-activated sodium iodide (NaI(Tl)) detector-based gamma-ray spectrometer and Potentially Toxic Elements (PTE) through atomic adsorption analysis. The data also were used to characterize ecological threats, radiological risks, and the geospatial distribution of toxic compounds in nearshore sediment as a proxy for marine pollution. The active concentration of primordial radionuclides such as uranium-238 (238U), thorium-232 (232Th), and potassium-40 (40K) was found in the range from ≤ 3 to 68 (11.4), ≤ 9.5 to 142.7 (41.2), and 85.2 to 603.4 (362) Bq/kg, and the results show that the average radioactive concentration of the average radionuclides was less than suggested by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) ranges. Potentially toxic elements iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) were higher in deeper water depths. The current study reveals that mud distribution primarily controls such elements. A decreasing order has been seen as follows by the ecological risk index of individual elements: copper (Cu) > lead (Pb) > nickel (Ni) > chromium (Cr) > zinc (Zn). The significant Pb, Cu, and Zn concentrations indicated high pollution at most stations, possibly resulting from regional and terrestrial sources such as industrial activity, urban drainage, manufacturing, and farming. The migration of contaminated soil from the industrial and transportation sectors may be the source of the increased levels of hazardous elements and naturally occurring radionuclides in the sediment transported into the coastal ecosystems of Bay of Bengal.
期刊介绍:
International Journal of Sediment Research, the Official Journal of The International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation and The World Association for Sedimentation and Erosion Research, publishes scientific and technical papers on all aspects of erosion and sedimentation interpreted in its widest sense.
The subject matter is to include not only the mechanics of sediment transport and fluvial processes, but also what is related to geography, geomorphology, soil erosion, watershed management, sedimentology, environmental and ecological impacts of sedimentation, social and economical effects of sedimentation and its assessment, etc. Special attention is paid to engineering problems related to sedimentation and erosion.