Assessment of Natural Terrestrial Radionuclides and Their Radiological Effects on Human Health in Soil Samples of Aravalli Hill and Mining Areas of Northern Rajasthan

Abstract In the current research, gamma ray spectroscopy was used to assess the levels of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in collected soil samples from various locations in Red granite mining regions of Bikaner district and Copper belt and Aravalli hill areas of Jhunjhunu district of Northern Rajasthan, India. The analyzed activity level along with standard error ranges from 25±5 to 39±7 Bq kg−1, 51±2 to 67±6 Bq kg−1, and 435±7 to 743±7 Bq kg−1 with the average value of 28.7 Bq kg−1, 57.8 Bq kg−1, and 611 Bq kg−1 for 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K, respectively. The radium equivalent activity level of all the collected soil samples falls within the range of 136–187 Bq/kg, with a mean value of 154 Bq/kg. The total absorbed dose and total annual effective dose of all the analyzed soil samples range from 64 to 91 nGy/h and 0.39 to 0.56 mSv, with a mean value of 74.5 nGy/h and 0.47 mSv, respectively. The total excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) varies from 1.37 × 10−3 to 1.97 × 10−3 with a mean value of 1.61 × 10−3, which is relatively higher than the world average. The external and internal hazard index values have also been discussed. Overall, we conclude that soil of current research sites is not suitable for construction purposes due to high value of total excess lifetime cancer risk.