ANALYSIS OF GROSS ALPHA RADIOACTIVITY IN SEDIMENT OF PULICAT LAGOON, SOUTH EAST COAST OF INDIA

The activity concentrations of gross alpha in the sediment samples of Pulicat lagoon, Southeast coast of India had been studied. The sampling stations were divided in to three Regions such as lagoon, mouth and canal. Gross-alpha radioactivities of sediment samples were determined using an Alpha Counter System (Nucleonex- RC 605A). The average activities of gross alpha in sediment samples of lagoon region ranged between 1.38 and 10.08 Bq/kg in 2017, however they were 2.29 and 9.86 Bq/kg in year 2018 and was found 3.02 and 10.04 Bq/kg in year 2019. At the same time the gross alpha activities of mouth region were found to be 2.29 to 5.12 Bq/kg (2017), 2.83 to 5.26 Bq/kg (2018) and 2.83 to 5.09 Bq/kg (2019). The gross alpha values in the sediment samples of canal region were 2.29 to 15.99 Bq/kg (2017), 2.75 to 5.26 Bq/kg (2018) and 3.21 to 16.64 Bq/kg (2019). The observed gross alpha values in the study area were well within the permissible limit.