Estimation of annual effective dose due to external and internal exposure in the residents of coastal villages of Kanya Kumari district, Tamil Nadu, India

In this paper, annual effective radiation dose received by the residents of coastal villages of Kanya Kumari district of Tamil Nadu, India, is estimated. External exposure and the internal exposure are added to get the annual effective dose. External dose is calculated using TLD and the internal dose is calculated via inhalation and ingestion. Inhalation dose is calculated using SSNTD a passive measuring technique and the ingestion dose is calculated through the intake of water and the food (meals) by the public. For the present study ten coastal villages are selected and all the selected villages come under the natural high background radiation area. Among the study villages the annual effective dose varies from 3.7 mSv to 9.8 mSv.