Comparative Study on Radio Activity Associated with Common Salt Production Process of Two Salt Works in Kanya Kumari and Tuticorin Districts, Tamil Nadu
Author : P. Prema Kumari, K. Mercy Salima and P. EthalshaVolume 5 No.1 January-June 2016 pp 45-48
Abstract
The manufacture of Common Salt used for the sea brine contain several chemical and radioactive elements. This study estimated the gross alpha and gross beta activites from the sea brine of two salt works at Kovalam in Kanya kumari District and Vepalodai in Tuticorin District, Tamil Nadu. The gross activity was increasing at subsequent stages of production due to the concentration of brine. The sediment and gypsum samples collected at different stages were also subjected for estimation of different types of activity. 40K activity was found to increase, source to bittern from 8.60 ± 0.92 to 221.006± 21.20 Bq l-1at Kovalam salt work and 4.006 ± 0.52 to 162.16 ± 15.94 Bq l-1 at Vepalodai salt work. This study showed that the radio activity is higher in Kovalam salt work than Vepalodai salt work, indicating the influence of naturally high background radiation area.
Keywords
Alpha, Beta, Gamma activity, salt works, Sea brine
Full Text:
References
[1] M. E. Harper, J. S. Wills and J. Patrick, “Sodium and Chloride in nutrition. In: O’ Dell BL, Sundle RA”, Eds. Handbook of nutrion essential minerals, New York: Deckker, pp. 93-116, 1997.
[2] F.O. Wood, Salt and Salt Production, The New Encylopaedia Britannica: Macropaedia, 15th Edn, Encylopaedia Inc., Chicago, Vol. 16, pp. 192, 1975.
[3] Salt Research and Industry, Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, India, 1967.
[4] D. W. Kaufmann, Sodium chloride, ACS Monograph 145, Reinhold publishing Corp., New York, 1960.
[5] J.P.Riley and G.Skirrow, Chemical Oceanography, Academic Press, London, Vol. 2, 1965.
[6] H.W. Fiedelman and H.W. Diamond, Solar Salt, Encyclopaedia of marine Resources, Nonstrand – Reinhold, New york, pp. 594–597, 1969
[7] Febvre, “The production of sea salt in India,Societe Industrielle & Commerciele des Salins du Midi”, Paris, France, 1962.
[8] UNSCEAR, United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effect of Atomic Radiation, United Nations General Assembly with annexes, United Nations. New York, 1993.
[9] S.C. Agarwal, The Salt Industry India, The Manger of publications, Government Press of India, Delhi, Vol. 647, 1956.
[10] S. Singraravelu, Training course in Salt Technology, Salt Department, Government of India, Madras, Vol. 37, 1981.
[11] Herman cember, Introduction to health physics, Mc Graw-Hill, 3rd Edn, 1996.
[12] P. Prema Kumari, C. G. Maniyan, A. P. Lipton, M. Chandran and K. Esai Selvan, “Radio activity associated with common salt and estimation of ingestion dose to general public”, Current Science, Vol. 97, No. 5, 2009.
[13] G.Victor Rajamanickam, Hand book of placer deposits. New Academic publishers, New Delhi, pp. 13-23, 2000.
[14] C. G. Maniyan, Esai Selvan, R. M. Tripathi and V. D. Puranik, “Studies on the Assessment of Radio activity in vegetables and fruits grown and consumed by Residents of a Typical natural High background Area of South India and Estimation committed effective Ingestion dose for the general public Environmental Assessments Division”, BARC, Mumbai, pp. 370, 2007.