A study by Kannur University has found the presence of radioactive elements in building materials used in Kannur district, which is witnessing rapid urbanisation. Radioactive elements cause cancer and infertility, it said.
The study titled ‘Radiological threat to humans in the context of alarming urbanisation; a geographical enquiry on concentration of radionuclides in building materials used in Kannur’ has been published in the Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry.
The research team comprised K.P. Shimod, head of the department of geography, Government College, Tholanur; V. Vineethkumar, faculty member, department of physics, Kasaragod Government College; T.K. Prasad, head of the department of geography, Kannur University; G. Jayapal, former research scholar, and C.V. Vishnu, physical researcher scholar, Calicut university.
