Environmental radioactivity studies along the coast of Odisha, India

Natural high background radiation areas occur along the coast of Orissa, southeastern coast of India. Monazite and zircon sand grains are enriched in higher concentrations of radioactive elements and emit higher levels of radiation. Radiometric studies were carried out for the quantitative estimation of radioactive elements (232Th, 238U and 40K) in the beach sediments. Based on the higher levels of radioactivity, gamma absorbed dose rates and annual external equivalent dose rates, these regions can be considered as natural high background radiation areas (HBRA), and are comparable to other monazite sand bearing HBRAs in southern and southwestern coastal tracts of India, as well as other similar areas in different parts of the world. Heavy mineral sand provinces occur along the coast of Chhatrapur and Erasama beach placer deposits, along the coast of Orissa. The heavy mineral sand resources, such as ilmenite, garnet, sillimanite, rutile, zircon and monazites are in economical viable concentrations. Monazites and ilmenites with other heavy mineral sands closely resembles with the mineralogical composition of rocks such as khondalites, charnockites, leptynites, pegmatites and other.