Radiological Assessment of Food Crops and Meats in Al-Tuwaitha Village, Southeast of Baghdad

Abstract

Ingestion of radionuclides in foods is considered as one of the reasons of human beings exposure to radiation doses. The sources of radioactivity in the environment have origins which are natural, terrestrial, extraterrestrial and anthropogenic. Radionuclides may be transmitted to plants by deposition or from soil. This study is to evaluate the activity of radionuclides' concentrations (40k, 232Th and 238U) of 19 samples selected from foods (vegetables, leafy vegetables, fruits and meats). These samples are collected from Al-Tuwaitha village which is located at southeast of Baghdad, Gamma rays are measured by using the sodium iodide detector. The highest activity value of 238U in basil is 3.606 ± 0.585 Bq/Kg, of 232Th in cayenne pepper is 5.984 ± 0.710 Bq/Kg of 40K in tangerine is 2757.032 ± 27.280 Bq/Kg. The least activity value of 238U is 0.038 ± 0.022 Bq/Kg, of 232Th is 0.063 ± 0.031Bq/Kg and 40K is is 36.396 ± 2.171Bq/Kg in one kinds of dates called Khistawi (in Arabic).