Assessment of radon transportation and uranium content in the tectonically active zone of Himalaya, India

Rohit Singh Sajwan; Veena Joshi; Taufiq Ahamad; Naresh Kumar; Priyanka Parmar; Manoj Kumar Jindal

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171823

Assessment of radon transportation and uranium content in the tectonically active zone of Himalaya, India

Sci Total Environ. 2024 May 20:926:171823. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171823. Epub 2024 Mar 21.

Authors

Rohit Singh Sajwan¹, Veena Joshi², Taufiq Ahamad³, Naresh Kumar⁴, Priyanka Parmar¹, Manoj Kumar Jindal⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, HNB Garhwal University, SRT Campus Badshahithaul, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand 249199, India.
² Department of Chemistry, HNB Garhwal University, SRT Campus Badshahithaul, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand 249199, India. Electronic address: joshiveena16@gmail.com.
³ Department of Physics, HNB Garhwal University, SRT Campus Badshahithaul, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand 249199, India.
⁴ Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, 33 - GMS Road, Dehradun, Uttrakhand 248001, India.
⁵ Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012, India. Electronic address: manojjindal1989@gmail.com.

PMID: 38521261
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171823

Abstract

The study shows how geology and tectonic activity affect the soil gas ²²²Rn concentration. The tectonically active zone, namely the Ghuttu region, which is located within the Himalayan seismic belt, was studied to decipher its impact on soil gas ²²²Rn concentrations. A soil gas ²²²Rn study was performed in the soil at a depth of 30 cm, and it varied from 426 ± 156 Bq m^-3 to 24,057 ± 1110 Bq m^-3 with an average of 5356.5 ± 1634.6 Bq m^-3, and at 60 cm below the soil surface, the concentration varied from 1130 ± 416 Bq m^-3 to 30,236 ± 1350 Bq m^-3 with an average of 8928.5 ± 2039.5 Bq m^-3. These concentrations vary in soil from -3.4 % to 437.3 % as the depth moves from 30 cm to 60 cm. The variation in uranium content also shows anomalies, and higher values of uranium content in the soil affect the radon concentration in the study area. The average soil gas ²²²Rn concentration in the Ghuttu window was found to be higher than that in its surrounding region. This is likely due to transportation from daughter products of uranium. ²²²Rn mass exhalation rate measurements were also carried out, and a weak correlation with the soil gas ²²²Rn concentration was observed. A significant variation in the mass exhalation rate was noticed in tectonically active areas. This study is vital to understanding the behavior of radon and uranium in tectonic regions.

Keywords: (222)Rn; Geology; MCT (Main Central Thrust); Soil; Tectonic activity; Uranium.