Measurements of Natural Radionuclides in Vegetables by Gamma Spectrometry

Abstract

This article reports the activity of natural radionuclides uranium, thorium, and potassium, in different vegetables in Malaysia, measured with a p-type high-purity germanium detector (HPGe). Potassium radionuclides were the most prevalent element in the tested samples, whose activity ranges from 138.89 to 2660.31 Bq/kg. Meanwhile, the activity of uranium was found to be within the minimum detection limit (MDL) to 46.94 Bq/kg, and thorium from < MDL to 192.98 Bq/kg. The annual dose was in the range 0.001 to 0.06 mSv, within the worldwide range of 0.29 mSv/year for ingestion of vegetables.