Evaluation of natural radioactivity levels in soil and various foodstuffs from Delta Abyan, Yemen

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to measure the natural radioactivity in some foodstuffs and agricultural soils from the Abyan Delta in Yemen and study the interaction between soil and foodstuffs by calculating the transfer factor (TF).The annual effective doses to individuals were also calculated and compared with the reference levels. The investigation yielded outcomes that can be considered as the initial phase in the computation of levels of radioactivity for a staple foodstuff in Yemen. The activity concentrations of 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K were determined by using the high purity germanium (HPGe) gamma ray spectrometer. In agricultural soils, the mean activity concentrations of 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K were 33.15 Bq kg −1 , 77.25 Bq kg −1 , and 1220.59 Bq kg −1 , respectively, while the maximum values in foodstuffs were 4.88 ± 0.30, 2.50 ± 0.14 and 351.30 ± 11.25 (Bq Kg −1 ), respectively. The average TF of 232 Th and 40 K were lower than the default values of 0.05 and 1.00 respectively, but the average TF value of 226 Ra was slightly higher than the reference value of 0.04. The average effective dose to individuals from the intake of the food types was 8.448 µSv y −1 , which is much lower than the worldwide average annual effective dose.

Radioactivity of soil in Croatia I: naturally occurring decay chains

“…Even though soil radioactivity research has a long history, the interest in this matter has not diminished. In recent years, for instance, activity concentrations of radionuclides in soil have been studied for agricultural soil ( 4 , 5 ), in mining areas ( 6 ), close to industrial facilities ( 7 , 8 ) or deposits of radioactive matter ( 9 , 10 ), and after the Fukushima accident ( 11 ). Other studies focus on soil that is not directly affected by human activities ( 12 , 13 ) not only to asses the related radiological risk but also obtain baseline data as reference for the future.…”

Determination of natural radioactivity material concentrations consumed widely during Corona pandemic in Thi Qar province

“… Country Sample Activity concentration (Bq.kg −1 ) Ref. Th-232 Ra-226 K-40 Iraq/Najaf Iraq Onion 3.08 – 274 [12] Iran Onion 2.84 – 238 China Garlic 3.55 – 154 Bangladesh Vegetables 83.53 – 1691 [13] Iraq/Baghdad Onion – 0.038 – [14] Garlic – 0.052 – Yemen (Abyan delta) Vegetables 0.64 0.94 118.3 [15] Pakistan Vegetables 2.37–7.2 2.41 34–123 [16] Jordan Vegetables 57.7 18.1 138.1 [17] Malaysia (Cameron) Vegetables 18.1 3.28–10.03 61.2–119.89 [18] Iraq/Al-Diwaniyah Onion 3.38 4.93 79.15 [19] Present Work Onion 3.18–6.68 2.62–4.32 198.31–240.59 Garlic 2.6–4.41 2.1–3.76 149.3–194.5 …”

Study of Natural Radionuclides in Frequently Consumed Foodstuffs in Ode-Irele, Ondo State, Nigeria

“…Fathabadi et al (2017) opined that the concentration of NORMs might be high in locally produced foodstuffs because their cultivation may be from areas where the concentrations of natural radionuclides is very high in the atmosphere and the soil. The foodstuffs consumed by people in an area have different effects from the same foodstuffs in another area (El-Gamal et al, 2019). The peculiarity of the NORMs in the environment and the soil of a particular area determines the extent to which people will be affected by the consumption of local foodstuffs (El-Gamal et al, 2019).…”