High level of Uranium in Nalgonda
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01/03/2012
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Deccan Chronicle (Hyderabad)
With Lambapur-Peddagattu uranium mines in Nalgonda district next in line for excavation, nuclear physicists from Osmania University, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and Chaitanya Bharati Institute of Technology have established ‘baseline data’ for background radiation in villages in this uranium-rich belt near Nagarjunasagar reservoir.
The expert team has found that mean radiation levels in the area are relatively high when compared to national and international averages.
Uranium Corporation of India Limited proposes to take up uranium mining at Lambapur-Peddagattu once mining starts at Thummalapalle in Kadapa district. The mines in Kadapa is expected to become operational later this month or early April.
Lambapur-Peddagattu is rich is Uranium reserves, and together with Thummalapalle could meet about 25 per cent of the country’s nuclear energy needs, experts say.
Baseline data developed by the team will help the Department of Atomic Energy to monitor radiation levels once mining starts at Lambapur-Peddagattu. Monitoring of radio-nuclide in the region is important as Nagarjuna-sagar and the Krishna river provide drinking water to millions of people in Nalgonda, Guntur, Ranga Reddy, Hyderabad and Krishna districts.
The team said Uranium 238 concentration in near-surface soil varies from 100 to 176 Bq kg, Thorium 232 varies between 64 and 116 Bq kg, and Potassium 40 concentration fluctuates from 309 to 373 Bq kg.