Measurements of alpha radioactivity in thermal power plant effluents employing CR-39 detector based improved alpha track detection method.

Natural radioactivity is released into the environment during the combustion process of coal at various thermal power plants. Coal contains higher contents of α-emitting radionuclides such as U, Th along with their decay elements, which pose a potential health risk to the population. In the present studies, the effluent waste samples were collected from a coal fired Thermal Power Plant.