Investigation of Radioactivity Levels in Soil Samples from Wheat Cultivation Sites in Bathinda, Punjab and Sirsa, Haryana region of India
摘要
This study assesses the distribution of natural radionuclides in soil and wheat samples from Bathinda (Punjab) and Sirsa (Haryana), India, by estimating the activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40 K. Soil samples exhibited activity concentrations ranging from 22.50 to 28.59 Bq Kg−1 for 226Ra, 12.04 to 31.04 Bq Kg−1 for 232Th, and 271.84 to 344.99 Bq Kg−1 for 40 K in Bathinda, while similar ranges were observed in Sirsa. Wheat samples demonstrated radionuclide activity with 226Ra levels between 16.21 and 19.65 Bq Kg−1, 232Th between 17.43 and 26.21 Bq Kg−1, and 40 K between 376.88 and 446.00 Bq Kg−1. All wheat samples demonstrated radium equivalent activity values below the safety threshold of 370 Bq kg−1, indicating compliance with recommended radiological limits. Annual effective dose (AED) assessments indicated that 226Ra and 232Th posed the most significant contributions, whereas 40 K had the lowest impact, with cumulative AED values in the range of 0.57 to 0.63 mSv. In the Bathinda region, the mean transfer factors (TF) for 226Ra, 232Th, and 40 K were determined to be 0.71, 1.09, and 1.33, respectively. Similarly, in the Sirsa region, the average TFs for 226Ra, 232Th, and 40 K were found to be 0.73, 0.92, and 1.49, respectively.