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Transfer Factors and Effective Dose Evaluation Due to Natural Radioactivity in Staple Food Grains from the Vicinity of Proposed Nuclear Power Plant

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Abstract

This study focused on quantification of radioactivity concentration of naturally occurring radioactive materials 40K, 226Ra and 232Th in most staple food grain i.e. wheat of the study area using gamma spectrometry for two years. 40K, 226Ra and 232Th activities were detectable in most of the wheat grain samples and ranged 111.3–245.7, <0.04–0.37 and <0.015–0.11 Bq kg−1 respectively. Effective dose due to the consumption of radionuclides via wheat grains was calculated on its estimated annual intake by the local populace. Also to evaluate transfer factors of radionuclide’s, corresponding fields’ soils were collected and assessed for their radioactivity content. Measured average radioactivity levels in soils from the site were in order: 40K (544.7 ± 14.6 Bq kg−1) > 226Ra (41 ± 1.6 Bq kg−1) > 232Th (32.3 ± 1.2 Bq kg−1) and comparable to the corresponding levels obtained worldwide. The geometric mean transfer factors of studied NORMs in wheat grains were in order: 40K (0.371 ± 0.07) > 226Ra (0.003 ± 0.002) > 232Th (0.001 ± 0.001). Significant positive dependencies of transfer factors of 40K, 226Ra and 232Th in wheat grains were observed with total organic carbon content of soil. Estimated annual effective doses from ingestion of the wheat were 1.37E−01 mSv year−1 for 40K, 4.14E−03 mSv year−1 for Ra226 and 1.10E−03 mSv year−1 for 232Th, well under the permissible cumulative global average.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are thankful to Board of Research in Nuclear Science, Department of Atomic Energy, (DAE-BRNS), Mumbai, India for providing the financial assistance to conduct this research work.

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Author notes

  1. V. K. Garg

    Present address: Centre for Environmental Sciences and Technology, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, Punjab, 151001, India

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Radio-ecology, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar, Haryana, 125001, India

    Poonam Yadav, V. K. Garg & Balvinder Singh

  2. Department of Environment Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India

    Poonam Yadav & Suman Mor

  3. Health Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India

    Vandana Pulhani

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  1. Poonam Yadav
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  2. V. K. Garg
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  4. Vandana Pulhani
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  5. Suman Mor
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Correspondence to V. K. Garg.

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Yadav, P., Garg, V.K., Singh, B. et al. Transfer Factors and Effective Dose Evaluation Due to Natural Radioactivity in Staple Food Grains from the Vicinity of Proposed Nuclear Power Plant. Expo Health 10, 27–39 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-017-0243-0

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