Academic Journal
Spatial distribution of natural radionuclides and radiological hazard assessment in beach sands of the Visakhapatnam coast, Eastern India.
| Τίτλος: | Spatial distribution of natural radionuclides and radiological hazard assessment in beach sands of the Visakhapatnam coast, Eastern India. |
|---|---|
| Συγγραφείς: | Ramesh B; Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Division, BARC, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 531011, India. rameshb@barc.gov.in.; Nuclear Physics Department, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, 530003, India. rameshb@barc.gov.in., Savitri PP; Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Division, BARC, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 531011, India., Sudhakar J; Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Division, BARC, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 531011, India., Kumar RB; Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Division, BARC, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 531011, India., Sahoo SK; Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Division, BARC, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 531011, India., Saradhi IV; Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Division, BARC, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 531011, India., Pulhani V; Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Division, BARC, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 531011, India.; Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400094, India. |
| Πηγή: | Environmental monitoring and assessment [Environ Monit Assess] 2026 Sep 24; Vol. 198 (10). Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Sep 24. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Springer Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 8508350 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1573-2959 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01676369 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Environ Monit Assess Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: 1998- : Dordrecht : Springer Original Publication: Dordrecht, Holland ; Boston : D. Reidel Pub. Co., c1981- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Soil Pollutants, Radioactive*/analysis , Radioisotopes*/analysis , Radiation Monitoring* , Bathing Beaches* , Background Radiation*, Thorium/analysis ; Sand/chemistry ; Radium/analysis ; Potassium Radioisotopes/analysis ; Uranium/analysis ; India ; Seashore |
| Περίληψη: | The primordial radionuclides present in beach sands serve as important indicators for understanding the physical and geochemical processes that influence the ocean floor and the marine geological environment. The present research work reports the study on the natural radioactivity present in the beach sands and ambient radiation levels in the beaches of Visakhapatnam, eastern coast of India. The concentrations of primordial radionuclides 238U, 226Ra, 232Th, and 40 K in beach sand samples were measured using the high-purity germanium (HPGe) based gamma spectrometry system. The range of concentrations of 238U, 226Ra, 232Th, and 40 K was 8.9-868, 2.8-1282.8, 6.9-13,691.7, 77.2-1191.1 with mean values 167, 292, 2614 and 449 Bq kg-1, respectively which exceed global average levels. The measured absorbed gamma dose rates on the beaches are comparable to those in monazite-rich high background radiation areas (HBRAs) in India and worldwide. A clear spatial variation was observed, with relatively higher concentrations towards the northern sector of the study area. Spatial distribution maps were generated to visualize the heterogeneity of radionuclide distribution along the coastline. Additionally, variations in radioactivity were observed in samples collected across the width of the beach. The Radiological hazard indices, including radium equivalent activity (Ra (© 2026. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. |
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| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Beach sand; Gamma spectrometry; Natural radioactivity; Spatial distribution; Visakhapatnam |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 0 (Soil Pollutants, Radioactive) 60YU5MIG9W (Thorium) 0 (Sand) W90AYD6R3Q (Radium) 0 (Potassium Radioisotopes) 0 (Thorium-232) 0 (Radioisotopes) 4OC371KSTK (Uranium) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260924 Date Completed: 20260925 Latest Revision: 20260924 |
| Update Code: | 20260925 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10661-026-15926-6 |
| PMID: | 42786395 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| FullText | Links: – Type: other Url: https://resolver.ebsco.com:443/public/rma-ftfapi/ejs/direct?AccessToken=4277B9013C0B61F3EBEB&Show=Object Text: Availability: 0 CustomLinks: – Url: https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1007/s10661-026-15926-6 Name: EDS - Springer Nature Journals (s7799221) Category: fullText Text: View record at Springer |
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| Header | DbId: cmedm DbLabel: MEDLINE An: 42786395 AccessLevel: 3 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Spatial distribution of natural radionuclides and radiological hazard assessment in beach sands of the Visakhapatnam coast, Eastern India. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Ramesh+B%22">Ramesh B</searchLink>; Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Division, BARC, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 531011, India. rameshb@barc.gov.in.; Nuclear Physics Department, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, 530003, India. rameshb@barc.gov.in.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Savitri+PP%22">Savitri PP</searchLink>; Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Division, BARC, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 531011, India.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Sudhakar+J%22">Sudhakar J</searchLink>; Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Division, BARC, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 531011, India.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Kumar+RB%22">Kumar RB</searchLink>; Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Division, BARC, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 531011, India.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Sahoo+SK%22">Sahoo SK</searchLink>; Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Division, BARC, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 531011, India.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Saradhi+IV%22">Saradhi IV</searchLink>; Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Division, BARC, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 531011, India.<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AU" term="%22Pulhani+V%22">Pulhani V</searchLink>; Environmental Monitoring & Assessment Division, BARC, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 531011, India.; Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400094, India. – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%228508350%22">Environmental monitoring and assessment</searchLink> [Environ Monit Assess] 2026 Sep 24; Vol. 198 (10). <i>Date of Electronic Publication: </i>2026 Sep 24. – Name: TypePub Label: Publication Type Group: TypPub Data: Journal Article – Name: Language Label: Language Group: Lang Data: English – Name: TitleSource Label: Journal Info Group: Src Data: <i>Publisher: </i><searchLink fieldCode="PB" term="%22Springer%22">Springer </searchLink><i>Country of Publication: </i>Netherlands <i>NLM ID: </i>8508350 <i>Publication Model: </i>Electronic <i>Cited Medium: </i>Internet <i>ISSN: </i>1573-2959 (Electronic) <i>Linking ISSN: </i><searchLink fieldCode="IS" term="%2201676369%22">01676369 </searchLink><i>NLM ISO Abbreviation: </i>Environ Monit Assess <i>Subsets: </i>MEDLINE – Name: PublisherInfo Label: Imprint Name(s) Group: PubInfo Data: <i>Publication</i>: 1998- : Dordrecht : Springer<br /><i>Original Publication</i>: Dordrecht, Holland ; Boston : D. Reidel Pub. Co., c1981- – Name: SubjectMESH Label: MeSH Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Soil+Pollutants%2C+Radioactive%22">Soil Pollutants, Radioactive*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Soil+Pollutants%2C+Radioactive+analysis%22">analysis</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Radioisotopes%22">Radioisotopes*</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Radioisotopes+analysis%22">analysis</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Radiation+Monitoring%22">Radiation Monitoring*</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Bathing+Beaches%22">Bathing Beaches*</searchLink> <br /><searchLink fieldCode="MM" term="%22Background+Radiation%22">Background Radiation*</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Thorium%22">Thorium</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Thorium+analysis%22">analysis</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Sand%22">Sand</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Sand+chemistry%22">chemistry</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Radium%22">Radium</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Radium+analysis%22">analysis</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Potassium+Radioisotopes%22">Potassium Radioisotopes</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Potassium+Radioisotopes+analysis%22">analysis</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Uranium%22">Uranium</searchLink>/<searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Uranium+analysis%22">analysis</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22India%22">India</searchLink> ; <searchLink fieldCode="MH" term="%22Seashore%22">Seashore</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The primordial radionuclides present in beach sands serve as important indicators for understanding the physical and geochemical processes that influence the ocean floor and the marine geological environment. The present research work reports the study on the natural radioactivity present in the beach sands and ambient radiation levels in the beaches of Visakhapatnam, eastern coast of India. The concentrations of primordial radionuclides <superscript>238</superscript>U, <superscript>226</superscript>Ra, <superscript>232</superscript>Th, and <superscript>40</superscript> K in beach sand samples were measured using the high-purity germanium (HPGe) based gamma spectrometry system. The range of concentrations of <superscript>238</superscript>U, <superscript>226</superscript>Ra, <superscript>232</superscript>Th, and <superscript>40</superscript> K was 8.9-868, 2.8-1282.8, 6.9-13,691.7, 77.2-1191.1 with mean values 167, 292, 2614 and 449 Bq kg<superscript>-1</superscript>, respectively which exceed global average levels. The measured absorbed gamma dose rates on the beaches are comparable to those in monazite-rich high background radiation areas (HBRAs) in India and worldwide. A clear spatial variation was observed, with relatively higher concentrations towards the northern sector of the study area. Spatial distribution maps were generated to visualize the heterogeneity of radionuclide distribution along the coastline. Additionally, variations in radioactivity were observed in samples collected across the width of the beach. The Radiological hazard indices, including radium equivalent activity (Ra<subscript>eq</subscript>), absorbed gamma dose rate (D<subscript>R</subscript>), annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE), gamma level index (I<subscript>γ</subscript>), external and internal hazard indices (H<subscript>ex</subscript> & H<subscript>in</subscript>), were evaluated for public risk assessment. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the correlation among the radionuclides. The study provides important baseline data for long-term environmental monitoring and radiological risk assessment in coastal ecosystems.<br /> (© 2026. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.) – Name: Abstract Label: Competing Interests Group: Ab Data: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. – Name: Ref Label: References Group: RefInfo Data: Akuo-ko, E.O., Adelikhah, M., Amponsem, E., Csordas, A., Kov´acs, T., 2013. Radiological assessment in beach sediment of coastline, Ghana. Heliyon 9 e16690. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16690.<br />Alencar, A. S., & Freitas, A. C. (2005). Reference levels of natural radioactivity for the beach sands in a Brazilian southeastern coastal region. Radiation Measurements, 40, 76–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radmeas.2004.08.003. (PMID: <searchLink fieldCode="PM" term="%2210%2E1016%2Fj%2Eradmeas%2E2004%2E08%2E003%22">10.1016/j.radmeas.2004.08.003)</searchLink><br />Asaduzzaman, K., Khandaker, M. U., Amin, Y. M., Bradley, D. A., Mahat, R. H., &amp; Nor, R. M. (2014). 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