Study of radium and radon exhalation rate in some solid samples using solid state nuclear track detectors

Uranium is a radiotoxic element found in trace quantities in almost all natural occurring materials like soil, rock and sand etc. Radon an inert radioactive gas whose predecessor is uranium, is emitted from soil beneath the house and from building materials. The radium concentration and radon exhalation rates from some solid samples of some area of Santhal Pargana, Jharkhand using LR-115 Type-JJ plastic track detectors keeping in view the health hazard effects, have been measured. Small strips of LR-115 Type-II film were fitted in bare mode in an emanation chamber for 90 days. The values of radium concentration and radon exhalation rate are found to be maximum in Jamtara district and minimum in Godda district. The values are, generally, found to be more in soil compared with rock and sand samples.