Assessment of radiological hazards in terms of gross α -β activities in groundwater in and around Beldih mine region of eastern India

In the present study, liquid scintillation counting triple to double coincidence ratio technique is used to ascertain the gross alpha and beta activity in groundwater samples collected from the Beldih mine region in the vicinity of the South Purulia Shear Zone (SPSZ) of Chota Nagpur Plateau in eastern India. A total of sixty samples were collected from deep tube wells located in the study area to assess the potential health threats caused by alpha and beta emitting radionuclides present in these water samples. Average gross alpha activity in the region of study is 0.09 +/- 0.05 Bq/L, with a maximum of 3.22 +/- 0.07 Bq/L. On the other hand, the average gross beta activity is found to be 0.13 +/- 0.02 Bq/L, with a maximum of 0.29 +/- 0.02 Bq/L. It was observed that gross alpha activity level in three samples exceeds the safety limit of 0.5 Bq/L recommended by the World Health Organization. No significant gross beta activity was observed. However, the radiological parameters for assessment of potential health threats due to ionizing radiation have been observed to be significantly high for adults. The results of this study indicate that the radiological assessment of groundwater in the Beldih mine region may be extended in future.