Natural radioactivity and the associated radiation hazards in archeological pottery and pottery-making clay samples collected from Senjikothamangalam of Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu, India

In this work, pottery and pottery-making clay samples have been collected from the archeological site of Senjikothamangalam of Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu for radioactivity studies to assess the radiation hazards for human beings who are handling these materials and living in this area. For pottery samples, the observed mean activity concentration is 16, 35, and 162 Bq kg −1 for 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40 K respectively. Similarly, 24, 37, and 240 Bq kg −1 for 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40 K respectively, for pottery-making clay samples. The observed mean excess lifetime cancer risk for pottery is 0.152 × 10 −3 mSv y −1 and pottery-making clay is 0.19 × 10 −3 mSv y −1 .