Assessment of radioactivity in commercially available honey in Italy

Abstract

Activity concentration of natural radionuclides and 137Cs were estimated in 28 honeys purchased from large supermarket chains in Italy. Uranium, polonium and thorium were measured by alpha spectrometry, 40 K and 137Cs by gamma spectrometry and 226Ra by liquid scintillation. The concentrations were 50.6 ± 46.3, 0.023 ± 0.010, 0.019 ± 0.017, 0.27 ± 0.40 Bqkg−1 for 40 K, 238U, 234U and 210Po respectively. 235U, 228Th, 232Th were consistently <0.007 Bqkg−1 and 226Ra <0.200 Bqkg−1. 137Cs was <2.1 Bqkg−1 in 93% of the samples. The activity of radiocesium was found to be above the minimum detectable level in only two samples and did not exceed the highest permitted level for food contributing to the overall radioactivity only slightly. The effective doses attributable to 210Po accounts for 0.0026–5.31% of global human exposure to natural radiation. The honeys that were tested were found to be of good quality with regard to the parameters under study, confirming the general image of honey as a genuine healthy product.