Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Rupnagar, 140001, Punjab, India.
iHub-AWaDH, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Rupnagar, 140001, Punjab, India.
Environ Monit Assess. 2024 Sep 17;196(10):940. doi: 10.1007/s10661-024-13047-6.
In this work, radioactivity investigations of soil samples from neutral and agricultural sites in Punjab (India) have been carried out to study the impact of land use patterns. Analyzing soil samples radiological, mineralogical, and physicochemical attributes has employed state-of-the-art techniques. The mean activity concentration of U/Ra, Th, K, U, and Cs, measured using a carbon fiber endcap p-type HPGe detector, in neutral land was observed as 58.03, 83.95, 445.18, 2.83, and 1.16 Bq kg, respectively. However, in vegetation land, it was found to be 40.07, 64.68, 596.74, 2.26, and 1.90 Bq kg, respectively. In the detailed activity analysis, radium equivalent (Ra) radioactivity is in the safe prescribed limit of 370 Bq kg for all investigated soil samples. However, the dosimetric investigations revealed that the outdoor absorbed gamma dose rate (96.08 nGy h) and consequent annual effective dose rate (0.12 mSv y) for neutral land and the gamma dose rate (82.46 nGy h) and subsequent annual effective dose rate (0.10 mSv y) for vegetation land marginally exceeded the global average. The soil's physicochemical parameters (pH, EC, and porosity) from both sites were measured, and their correlations with radionuclides were analyzed. Various heavy metals of health concern, namely, chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn), were also evaluated in soil samples using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Pollution Load Index (PLI) and Ecological Risk Index (RI) revealed that vegetation land was more anthropogenically contaminated than neutral land, with maximum contamination from Hg and As.
在这项工作中，对旁遮普（印度）中性和农业用地的土壤样本进行了放射性研究，以研究土地利用模式的影响。采用最先进的技术分析了土壤样本的放射性、矿物学和物理化学性质。使用碳纤维端帽 p 型 HPGe 探测器测量中性土地的 U/Ra、Th、K、U 和 Cs 的平均活度浓度分别为 58.03、83.95、445.18、2.83 和 1.16 Bq kg，而在植被土地中，分别为 40.07、64.68、596.74、2.26 和 1.90 Bq kg。在详细的活性分析中，镭当量（Ra）放射性在所有调查土壤样本中均处于 370 Bq kg 的安全规定限值内。然而，剂量学研究表明，中性土地的室外吸收伽马剂量率（96.08 nGy h）和相应的年有效剂量率（0.12 mSv y）以及植被土地的伽马剂量率（82.46 nGy h）和随后的年有效剂量率（0.10 mSv y）略高于全球平均值。对来自两个地点的土壤的物理化学参数（pH、EC 和孔隙率）进行了测量，并分析了它们与放射性核素的相关性。还使用电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP-MS）评估了土壤样本中各种健康关注的重金属，如铬（Cr）、砷（As）、铜（Cu）、钴（Co）、镉（Cd）、铅（Pb）、汞（Hg）、硒（Se）和锌（Zn）。污染负荷指数（PLI）和生态风险指数（RI）表明，植被土地比中性土地受到更多的人为污染，Hg 和 As 的污染最严重。
