Assessment of radon transportation and uranium content in the tectonically active zone of Himalaya, India

Sajwan, RS and Joshi, V and Ahamad, T and Kumar, N and Parmar, P and Jindal, MK (2024) Assessment of radon transportation and uranium content in the tectonically active zone of Himalaya, India. In: Science of the Total Environment, 926 .

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Abstract

The study shows how geology and tectonic activity affect the soil gas 222Rn concentration. The tectonically active zone, namely the Ghuttu region, which is located within the Himalayan seismic belt, was studied to decipher its impact on soil gas 222Rn concentrations. A soil gas 222Rn study was performed in the soil at a depth of 30 cm, and it varied from 426 ± 156 Bq m�3 to 24,057 ± 1110 Bq m�3 with an average of 5356.5 ± 1634.6 Bq m-3 and at 60 cm below the soil surface, the concentration varied from 1130 ± 416 Bq m�3 to 30,236 ± 1350 Bq m�3 with an average of 8928.5 ± 2039.5 Bq m�3. These concentrations vary in soil from �3.4 to 437.3 as the depth moves from 30 cm to 60 cm. The variation in uranium content also shows anomalies, and higher values of uranium content in the soil affect the radon concentration in the study area. The average soil gas 222Rn concentration in the Ghuttu window was found to be higher than that in its surrounding region. This is likely due to transportation from daughter products of uranium. 222Rn mass exhalation rate measurements were also carried out, and a weak correlation with the soil gas 222Rn concentration was observed. A significant variation in the mass exhalation rate was noticed in tectonically active areas. This study is vital to understanding the behavior of radon and uranium in tectonic regions. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Science of the Total Environment
Publisher:	Elsevier B.V.
Additional Information:	The copyright for this article belongs to Elsevier B.V.
Keywords:	Radon; Tectonics; Uranium, 222rn; Active zone; Exhalation rate; Himalayas; Main central thrust; Main central thrusts; Soil gas; Soil surfaces; Tectonic activity; Uranium contents, Soils, polyvinyl alcohol; radon; radon 220; radon 222; uranium; radon 222, assessment method; concentration (composition); radon; soil gas; soil pollution; tectonics; uranium, Article; electric field; energy dispersive X ray fluorescence spectroscopy; exhalation; gamma radiation; geology; health hazard; Himalaya; human; India; limit of detection; plate tectonics; relative humidity; seismicity; soil analysis; spatiotemporal analysis; surface soil; wavelength dispersive X ray fluorescence spectroscopy; article; controlled study; drug toxicity; gas; Himalaya; soil; traffic and transport, Himalayas
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Divecha Centre for Climate Change
Date Deposited:	09 Jul 2024 07:21
Last Modified:	09 Jul 2024 07:21
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/84760

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