Radiating Sands
Exposure to natural background radiation is an average 2.4 milliGray per year (milliGray or mGy is the unit for measuring radiation dose received per kg of body mass) and is often greater than exposure to human-caused radiation (0.01 mGy per year from nuclear weapons testing, accidents and operations combined) and the average exposure from medical procedures (0.04-1 mGy per year).
In Kerala, natural radiations come from thorium-containing monazite sands present in coastal areas. That the coastal belt of Karunagappally gives off high background radiation was established in 1959 by a committee of WHO. The average outdoor radiation level is above 4mGy per year.
Even though studies on rats and people did not find genetic changes from high background radiation, in 1990, the government established a cancer registry in Karunagappally.
Related Content
- Judgement of the National Green Tribunal regarding discharge of effluents by Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML) into the waterbodies of Chavara, Kollam District, Kerala, 31/08/2017
- India State of the Environment Report : The Monthly Overview, September 2013
- High background radiation sweeping along the southwest coast of Tamil Nadu, India
- Snakes use inner ear to locate prey
- Bytes