Natural radioactivity and mineral assessment in red and black colored soils collected from agricultural area of Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu, India

Activity concentration of U-238, Th-232, K-40 and its corresponding radiological parameters in red and black soil samples collected from different agricultural locations of Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu were studied. The calculated activities of radionuclides in samples have fluctuated between 10 and 95 Bq kg(-1) for U-238, 10 to 43 Bq kg(-1) for Th-232 and 112 to 480 Bq kg(-1) for K-40. From FT-IR and XRD, silicate group mineral (quartz), clay mineral group (kaolinite and montmorillonite), Feldspar group (orthoclase, microcline and albite), Carbonate minerals (aragonite and calcite), heavy minerals (monazite, zircon, and hematite) are identified.