Statistical Comparative Study of the Gamma Dose Rate and Associated Risk Assessment in Rural and Urban Areas of Durg District, Chhattisgarh, India
Manoj Kumar Jindal, Santosh Kumar Sar
Abstract
Abstract The gamma dose rates in rural and urban areas of Durg were compared. The statistical study was made to compare the outdoor and indoor gamma dose rates for the rural and urban areas. The lifetime effective doses for the rural and urban areas were found to be from 64.4 ± 2.6 to 105.4 ± 4.2 and from 82.2 ± 3.3 to 92.9 ± 3.7 mSv, respectively. The excess lifetime cancer risk ranging from 5.2 × 10–3 to 5.3 × 10–3 was found in several rural areas. The maximum values of the indoor gamma dose rate observed in the rural and urban areas are 253 ± 10 and 224 ± 9 nSv/h, respectively, which is higher than the typical range (10–200 nSv/h) reported by UNSCEAR. The measured gamma dose rate for terrestrial is compared to the reported values of radiation near uranium mines in India and in the world. The effective organ dose is higher than the recommended limit of 1.0 mSv/year.