Radioactive heat production rate and excess lifetime cancer risk of sand from two major rivers in India – A comparative study

Rivers are having a major role in crop cultivation, power generation, and sand used for mining and construction.

 The gamma ray spectrometer was used to estimate uranium, thorium, and potassium (238U, 232Th, 40K), and its average is tabulated. Related parameters like absorbed dose (D), Annual Effective Dose Equivalent (AE), and also hazard indices (H) to assess radiation exposure. Additional parameters like radium equivalent (Req), radioactive heat production (RHP), Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR), Alpha (Iα), and Gamma Index (Ig), Annual Gonadal dose (AGD) are computed and correlated with the related parameters to understand radioactive penetration to the living things. 

 This study exhibits the radioactive contaminants in Cauvery are in control by comparing to the world average except for C20. The average radiological risk of the Palar river is slightly higher and site no.6 shows three times the world average. 

 This radioactive pollution can cause serious health effects for the people living in and around those two sites (C20 and P7) who are highly exposed to radiation, which leads to harmful effects on living things.