Measurement of natural radioactivity and radiation hazard assessment in the soil samples of Ramanagara and Tumkur districts, Karnataka, India

The activity concentration of primordial radionuclides, Ra-226, Th-232 and K-40 in soil samples of Ramanagara and Tumkur districts were determined by gamma spectrometry using HPGe detector. The average activity concentrations of Ra-226, Th-232 and K-40 were found to be 33.78 +/- A 1.99, 77.44 +/- A 2.37 and 791.58 +/- A 5.78 Bq Kg(-1) respectively. The measured activity concentrations of these radionuclides were compared with world average activity concentration of soil. The radiological hazard indices of the natural radioactivity have been calculated and compared with the internationally approved values. The concentration of these radionuclides with different size and depth of the soil samples was studied.