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Ingestion of U(nat), 226Ra, 230Th and 210Po in vegetables by adult inhabitants of Bagjata uranium mining area, Jharkhand, India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2010

S. Giri ,
G. Singh ,
V.N. Jha  and
R.M. Tripathi
S. Giri
Affiliation:
Dept. of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad-826004, India.
G. Singh
Affiliation:
Dept. of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad-826004, India.
V.N. Jha
Affiliation:
Environmental Assessment Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085, India.
R.M. Tripathi
Affiliation:
Environmental Assessment Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085, India.
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Abstract

Ingestion of radionuclides through food intake accounts for a substantial part of radiation doses and vegetables constitute essential components of the diet, by contributing protein, vitamins, iron, calcium and other nutrients. Radionuclides can be apprehended in the ecosystem of the East Singhbhum region which is known for its viable grades of uranium. In the present study, vegetables were collected from the villages around the proposed Bagjata mining area and analysed for U(nat), 226Ra, 230Th and 210Po. The geometric mean concentration of U(nat), 226Ra, 230Th, and 210Po were 0.05, 0.09, 0.17 and 1.12 Bq kg-1 fresh weight, respectively. The intake of the radionuclides from vegetables was found to be 49.58 Bq y-1while the ingestion dose was calculated to be 11.51 µSv y-1, respectively. The estimated doses are reflecting the natural background dose via the route of ingestion, which is much below the 1 mSv limit set in the new ICRP recommendations. It is lower than the global average annual radiation dose of 2 400 µSv to man from the natural radiation sources as proposed by UNSCEAR. The total cancer risk due to the consumption of vegetables was calculated to be 6.65 × 10-9 which is negligible and much lower than the threshold risk value of 10-6. The study also reveals that water is more conducive for high radioactivity occurrence in vegetables compared to soil systems.

Keywords

vegetablesradionuclidesingestion dosecancer riskintake
Type
Article
Information
Radioprotection , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , April 2010 , pp. 183 - 199
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, 2010

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