Estimation of Radionuclide Concentrations and Average Effective Dose from Some Selected Imported Foodstuff

Abstract

Radionuclide concentrations in imported food products depend on the geological and mineralogical characteristics of the soil from which the products are derived and this is a major cause of concern in radiation monitoring. The analysis of three naturally occurring
radionuclides that are:²²⁶Ra,²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in fourteen selected imported food samples was carried out in this research using sodium iodine detector. Reasonable quantities of each of the samples were packed in cylindrical containers and kept for a month to attain secular equilibrium. The activity concentrations of the analyzed samples ranged from 48.76 ± 5.03 to 85.45 ± 3.20, from 10.10 ± 1.70 to 21.10 ± 2.20 and from 8.06 ±1.4 to 10.54 ± 3.64 Bq/kg and their average values were 65.32 ± 4.14, 11.23 ± 2.18 and 9.68 ± 2.08 for ⁴⁰K,²²⁶Ra and ²³²Th, respectively. For²³²Th, ten samples were seen to be below detention limit BDL. The mean effective dose was estimated to be 4.17 µSv/y. The result of the radiation dose was less than the average value of 1mSv/y for general public, making the foodstuff analyzed radiologically safe for consumption.

Keywords:Imported foodstuff, Radionuclides, Monitoring, Effective dose, Consumption.