Assessment of natural radioactivity in the Higher and Tethys Himalayan Rocks along Manali-Leh Highway, India

The Higher and Tethys Himalayan region of NW-Himalaya is less explored from the natural radioactivity mapping assessment, though geologically and tectonically, this region is still active. The concentration of primordial radionuclides ( 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40  K) in rock samples of the Manali-Leh Hi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental monitoring and assessment 2024-11, Vol.196 (11), p.1133, Article 1133
Main Authors: Yadav, Jyoti, Beniwal, Rajesh, Singh, Pushpendra P., Singh, Paramjeet, Dalal, Ranjeet
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
Background Radiation
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecology
Ecotoxicology
Environment
Environmental Management
H alpha line
India
Jupiter
Monitoring/Environmental Analysis
Natural radioactivity
Parameter estimation
Population studies
Potassium Radioisotopes - analysis
Radiation Monitoring
Radioactivity
Radioisotopes
Radionuclide kinetics
Radium
Radium - analysis
Radium 226
Radium isotopes
Radium radioisotopes
Rock
Rocks
Sediment samples
Soil Pollutants, Radioactive - analysis
Thorium - analysis
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Summary:The Higher and Tethys Himalayan region of NW-Himalaya is less explored from the natural radioactivity mapping assessment, though geologically and tectonically, this region is still active. The concentration of primordial radionuclides ( 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40  K) in rock samples of the Manali-Leh Highway region of the Himalayas is determined in the present study using the HPGe detector. The radiological hazard parameters are also estimated in terms of radium equivalent activity (Ra eq ), annual effective dose ( E in and E out ), hazard indices ( H in , H ex , H α , and H γ ), and gamma absorbed dose rate. SEM–EDS analysis was used to understand the mineralogical composition of the rocks. The activity concentration of 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40  K radionuclides varies from 1.4 ± 0.9 to 25.3 ± 1.2, 0.7 ± 0.5 to 59.6 ± 1.6, and BDL (below detection limit) to 830.3 ± 45.7 Bq kg −1 , with an average value of 13.0 ± 1.0, 21.7 ± 1.0, and 243.7 ± 25.2 Bq kg −1 , respectively. The average of Ra eq in the study region lies within the safe limit of 370 Bq kg −1 . The hazard indices have values 
ISSN:0167-6369
1573-2959
1573-2959
DOI:10.1007/s10661-024-13268-9