Spatial and depth wise characterization of radionuclides and minerals in various beach sediments from high background radiation area, Kerala, India

The activity concentrations (238U, 232Th and 40K) and mineralogical characterization of different layer (upper surface, first, second and third feet) Kerala beach sediments have been assessed with an aim of evaluating the radioactivity content profile, its relation to specific minerals and their distributions (spatial and depth wise). The eight different radiological indices are calculated for all samples and compared with either recommended values or the world average values of radioactivity content of the three primordial radionuclides to assess the complete radiological profile of the sediments. The radioactivity study suggests that the average specific activities of radionuclides (238U and 232Th) are higher than the world average values as given in UNSCEAR reports and all radiological parameters in all layer samples are more than the recommended safety levels. These results are on the expected lines since the samples are from a well-known high background radiation area. Using FTIR, mineralogical characteristics of the sediments were analyzed and the extinction coefficient is calculated to find the relative distribution of major minerals. The calculated values show that the amount of major minerals decreases in the order of quartz>calcite>kaolinite>microcline feldspar in all layers. To confirm the results obtained from FTIR, XRD analysis was also carried out. The observations made through the XRD technique are matched with FTIR observations. Statistical analyses (cluster and factor analysis) are carried out to assess the relation between the radionuclides and minerals, and also assess their distribution patterns in different layers. The analyses suggest that the concentration of 40K may have a strong association with the light mineral calcite and also suggest that spatial distributions of 40K and calcite are almost similar in every layer. The concentrations of 238U, 232Th and absorbed dose rate are evenly distributed (spatial) and other variables are randomly distributed among the sites.