Abstract
The concentrations of natural radionuclide of 238U and 232Th have been measured by neutron activation analysis technique in essential vegetables and soil samples collected from farms in Cameron Highlands and Penang, Malaysia. The concentrations of natural radionuclide in Tomato, Eggplant, Lattice, Pumpkin, Cucumber, Onion, Okra, and Chilli were measured. In soil, the average concentrations of 238U and 232Th were 203.832.05 Bq/kg and 186.173.35 Bq/kg, respectively in Cameron Highland. The highest concentrations of uranium and thorium were 6.251.58 Bq/kg and 2.51.55 Bq/kg in cucumber and lettuce products, respectively in the Cameron highlands. The transfer factors of these radionuclides from soil to vegetables were estimated. The highest estimation was in Cucumber and lettuce. These values were compared with the published data and were found to be within acceptable limits.
Highlights
Natural radionuclides exist in every human environment; soil, water, air, food, and even our own bodies contain naturally occurring radioactive materials
As far as the transfer factors (TF) of different vegetable samples, they were calculated in the present study
The results showed that the highest average transfer factor was in Penang farms rather than in farms Cameron Highlands
Summary
Natural radionuclides exist in every human environment; soil, water, air, food, and even our own bodies contain naturally occurring radioactive materials. The natural radionuclides are very low activity concentrations. The primordial radionuclides 238U and 232Th exist in soil, in varying concentrations. These can be attributed to the nature of the parent rock during soil genesis. Studying transfer of natural radionuclides, like 238U and 232Th along with their daughter products through the biosphere is important because their ubiquitous presence and persistence in the environment (UNSCEAR, 2000; Hasan et al, 2010; Pulhani et al, 2005). Soil–vegetables are recognized as one of the major pathways for the transfer of radionuclides to human beings (IAEA, 1982). Transmission of uranium and thorium along with nutrients through the absorption of minerals, and accumulate in various parts or even up to the edible parts
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