Natural radioactivity concentrations and radiological risk assessment of farmed gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L., 1758) from the Turkish coast of the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Natural radioactivity concentrations in farmed and wild gilthead seabream were determined via samples collected from 20 different farms located in four different major cage farming areas to represent the overall Turkish production along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The 226Ra (2.06±0.28 Bq kg−1), 232Th (1.27±0.29 Bq kg−1) and 40K (157.77±4.81 Bq kg−1) concentrations in farmed fish were significantly lower (approximately 1.5–3 times) than their wild equivalents. In accordance with that, ingested dose (ID) values calculated for the consumption of per kg fish was significantly lower for farmed seabream than for wild seabream. Moreover, ID values calculated over the annual fish consumption of both EU and Turkish citizens were well below the recommended values by UNSCEAR 2000. Hence, it was concluded that both farmed and wild gilthead seabream originating from the Turkish coast of the Mediterranean Sea do not pose a serious radiological threat to human health.