Geological control of terrestrial background radiation in Garhwal Himalaya, India

Activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K were measured in soil samples from several areas of Garhwal Himalaya, Northern India, by gamma-ray spectrometry. In this region, which extends around the Himalayan Main Central Thrust, a tectonic line that separates several geological provinces, background levels of natural terrestrial radiation were assessed. The maximum levels of radium, 285 Bq/kg and 136 Bq/kg, respectively, were found in the Budhakedar and Uttarkashi regions, exceeding the world average value of 35 Bq/kg. The mean radiation levels were found to be different between the areas, which reflects the geological diversity in the region. The overall absorbed dose rate owing to radionuclide presence in the Uttarkashi area ranged from 79 to 188 nGyh-1, with an average of 118 nGyh-1. That is more than UNSCEAR's world-populated weighted average value of 59 nGyh-1. The present investigation indicated that the absorbed dose rates are greater in Uttarkashi and Budhakedar than in other places. The multiple comparison analysis between geology and absorbed dose rate shows that the geology of Uttarkashi and Budhakedar are statistically similar. According to several hazard indices, terrestrial background radiation is not of radiological concern in the investigated region.