DISTRIBUTION AND ENRICHMENT OF RADIONUCLIDES IN THE NEWLY DISCOVERED HIGH BACKGROUND AREA IN ULLAL ON THE SOUTHWEST COAST OF INDIA

In order to understand the distribution of radionuclides in the newly discovered high background area in Ullal near Mangalore, soil and sand samples collected from different depths were analyzed for the concent ration of primordial radionuclides by gamma spectrometry. The activity of Th-232 and U-238 in soil and sand was observed to be maximum in th e 0-10 cm layer. The activity of primordial radionuclides was determin ed for the different size fractions of soil and sand to study the enri chment pattern. The highest activity was found in the 250-125 mu fract ion in both soil and sand. The concentration of primordial radionuclid es in riverine and marine sediments in the vicinity of the high backgr ound area was measured to understand the transportation of radionuclid es in riverine and marine environments and to throw light on the forma tion of the new patches of monazite deposit, The results of these syst ematic investigations are discussed in this paper.