Heterogeneity of Radiation Dose to The Population in The West Coast of India

External radiation exposures, the second largest source of total dose to human beings originates from terrestrial radionuclides in soil, primarily. Highly diverse distribution of primordial radionuclides in soil could be the cause the of highly varied radiation dose as reported by many. The region under study is known to have high deposits of monazite sand containing several minerals and radionuclides. There are several reports of radionuclide levels in different parts of the beach sand having a wide range of activity levels. The present investigation aims at the study of extend of radionuclides distribution in soil hence to assess the dose levels and other major radiation parameters.  Activities of soil borne primordial nuclides namely 238 U, 232 Th and 40 K were assessed using Gamma ray spectrometry. The specific activities were found to vary two to three orders of magnitude. Radium equivalent activity , external hazard index and internal hazard index were estimated for different zones in the coastal region of Kerala.