Assessment of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K and natural gamma radiation dose in Bathinda, Punjab (India): Insights from a car-borne survey

Abstract

The shallow groundwater in Bathinda of Punjab, India, has high uranium (U) concentrations, due to the Quaternary alluvium formed from sediments deposited by weathering of the Himalayan mountains. The present study determined radionuclide distributions (²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ac and ⁴⁰K) in surface soils and measured the absorbed dose rates in air through a car-borne survey. The absorbed dose rates ranged from 36 to 115 nGy h⁻¹ with an average of 66 nGy h⁻¹. Radiological hazard parameters such as indoor and outdoor annual effective doses were 0.55 mSv y⁻¹ and 0.08 mSv y⁻¹, which were slightly higher than world average values.