Natural radioactivity in the soil samples in and around Kudankulam nuclear power plant site

The terrestrial gamma-radiation in soil and sand samples collected around Kudankulam nuclear power plant site, i.e., in Radhapuram Taluk of Tirunelveli District has been measured using NaI(T1) gamma-ray spectrometer. In the soil samples total dose due to three primordial radionuclides lies in the range of 13.1–168.2 nGy/h with a geometric mean of 137.2 nGy/h, which yields an annual effective dose of 0.17 mSv/y. In the sand samples the total dose due to three primordial radionuclides has been found to be in the range of 38.1–1964.4 nGy/h with a geometric mean of 300.8 nGy/h, which gives an annual effective dose of 0.37 mSv/y which is well below the permissible limit (1 mSv).