Assessment of groundwater radioactivity and radiological health risk around a coal-based thermal power plant.

Authors

Meenu Malik, Jitender Singh Laura, Pinkey Sheoran, Babita Khosla

Published in

Environmental geochemistry and health. Volume 48. Issue 12. Aug 01, 2026. Epub Aug 01, 2026.

Abstract

This study evaluated the radioactivity levels and associated radiological health risks of groundwater surrounding a coal-based super thermal power plant in Jhajjar district, Haryana, India. A total of seventy groundwater samples were gathered from thirty-five locations within a 20 km radius, along with five background sites located beyond that distance and were analysed for ⁴⁰K, ²³⁸U, and ²³²Th using a Sodium Iodide, Thallium-activated (NaI (Tl)) scintillation detector. The activity concentrations in the 20 km area varied from 0.11 to 37.72 Bq/L for ⁴⁰K (with an average of 8.14 ± 0.37 Bq/L), 0.01 to 3.13 Bq/L for ²³⁸U (average 0.82 ± 0.07 Bq/L), and 0.01 to 3.52 Bq/L for ²³²Th (average 0.45 ± 0.04 Bq/L). These levels were notably higher than the regional background levels measured beyond 20 km. The Annual Effective Dose and the Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk derived from radiological parameters showed the variation from 0.047 to 0.489 mSv y⁻¹, and 1.64 × 10⁻⁴ to 17.12 × 10⁻⁴ respectively. Approximately 60% of the groundwater samples exceeded the WHO (2017) guideline value for uranium (²³⁸U; 0.5 Bq/L), while about 40% exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO, 2017) reference level for Total Annual Effective Dose from drinking water (0.1 mSv y⁻¹). Furthermore, five sampling locations (W14, W17, W 18, W19 and W21) exceeded the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP, 2007) benchmark for Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (1 × 10⁻³). The elevated radionuclide concentrations within the 20 km radius were likely influenced by fly ash dispersion from the thermal power plant, as inferred from spatial, statistical, and wind-direction patterns, in addition to natural contributions from the regional geology. These results set a quantitative radiological baseline for the study area and showed how important it is to regularly check the groundwater to make sure it meets international radiological safety standards.

PMID:
42542540
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 02 Aug 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.