Uranium-series radionuclides in native fruits and vegetables of northern Australia

Summary

Wild fruits and vegetables play an important part in a traditional Aboriginal diet in northern Australia. Radionuclide uptake by these foods is important for radiological impact assessment of uranium mining operations in the region, particularly after minesite rehabilitation. In this paper, data are presented for concentrations in several fruits and root vegetables, and associated soils. In terms of radiological dose, ²¹⁰Po, ²²⁶Ra and, to a lesser extent, ²¹⁰Pb were found to be of greater importance than the uranium and thorium isotopes. Other important factors that have emerged include food preparation and consumption habits of Aboriginal people which could potentially affect radionuclide intake estimates.