Mineralogical Characterization and Environmental Radiation Health Assessment in Brick Samples of Tamil Nadu

Natural radioactivity due to 238 U, 232 Th, and 40 K in brick samples from Tamil Nadu was determined using gamma-ray spectrometry. The calculated mean activity concentrations of 238 U, 232 Th, and 40 K, 69 ± 6, 62 ± 6, and 462 ± 23 Bq kg − 1 , are higher than the world recommended limits of 35, 45, and 420 Bq kg − 1 , respectively, and they are compared with the other countries. The calculated radiological parameters radium equivalent activity (193 ± 17 Bq kg − 1 ), internal hazard index (0.71 ± 0.06), activity utilization index (1.43 ± 0.13) were lower, while absorbed dose rate (89 ± 8 nGy h − 1 ), annual effective dose equivalent (0.43 ± 0.04 mSv y − 1 ) and excess lifetime cancer risk (1.52 ± 0.13 mSv y − 1 ), which are slightly higher than the world’s recommended limits. The minerals presented in the soil samples were identified using FT-IR and XRD techniques. Both techniques revealed that the presence of quartz, orthoclase, kaolinite, microcline, albite, illite, calcite, montmorillonite and organic carbon in the samples. Bi-variate statistical analysis was estimated to corroborate the relationship between radionuclides and radiological hazards.