Evaluation of internal dose to members of the public at the Kaiga site, India, due to the ingestion of primordial radionuclide 40K.

Four 220 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors are under operation at Kaiga in the state of Karnataka in India. Environmental radiological survey of the surrounding areas of the Kaiga site is carried out by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai. The estimated dose to the members of the public due to ingestion of radioactive isotope of potassium, a natural radionuclide, in the surroundings of the Kaiga site is 136 µSv (13.6 mrem) per year. The value indicates that the dose to the public due to operation of the nuclear reactors in Kaiga is insignificant in comparison with the dose due to unavoidable natural radioactivity.

Soil to leaf transfer factor for the radionuclides ²²6Ra, 4°K, ¹³7Cs and 9°Sr at Kaiga region, India.

Transfer factors are the most important parameters required for mathematical modeling used for environmental impact assessment of radioactive contamination in the environment. In this paper soil to leaf transfer factor for the radionuclides 4°K, ²²6Ra, ¹³7Cs and 9°Sr is estimated for Kaiga region in Karnataka state, India. Among the plants in which study is carried out, ²²6Ra, 4°K, ¹³7Cs and 9°Sr activity in leaves of herbaceous plants is higher than that of tree leaves. Soil to leaf transfer factor for ²²6Ra, 4°K, ¹³7Cs and 9°Sr was found to be in the range of 0.03-0.65, 0.32-8.04, 0.05-3.03 and 0.42-2.67 respectively.