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Ingestion of U(nat), 226Ra, 230Th and210Po in vegetables by adult inhabitants of Bagjata uranium mining area,Jharkhand, India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2010

S. Giri ,
G. Singh ,
V.N. Jha  and
R.M. Tripathi
S. Giri
Affiliation:
Dept. of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad-826004, India.
G. Singh
Affiliation:
Dept. of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad-826004, India.
V.N. Jha
Affiliation:
Environmental Assessment Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085, India.
R.M. Tripathi
Affiliation:
Environmental Assessment Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085, India.
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Abstract

Ingestion of radionuclides through food intake accounts for a substantial part ofradiation doses and vegetables constitute essential components of the diet, bycontributing protein, vitamins, iron, calcium and other nutrients. Radionuclides can beapprehended in the ecosystem of the East Singhbhum region which is known for its viablegrades of uranium. In the present study, vegetables were collected from the villagesaround the proposed Bagjata mining area and analysed for U(nat), 226Ra,230Th and 210Po. The geometric mean concentration of U(nat),226Ra, 230Th, and 210Po were 0.05, 0.09, 0.17 and 1.12Bq kg-1 fresh weight, respectively. The intake of the radionuclides fromvegetables was found to be 49.58 Bq y-1while the ingestion dose was calculatedto be 11.51 µSv y-1, respectively. The estimated doses are reflecting thenatural background dose via the route of ingestion, which is much belowthe 1 mSv limit set in the new ICRP recommendations. It is lower than the global averageannual radiation dose of 2 400 µSv to man from the natural radiation sources as proposedby UNSCEAR. The total cancer risk due to the consumption of vegetables was calculated tobe 6.65 × 10-9 which is negligible and much lower than the threshold risk valueof 10-6. The study also reveals that water is more conducive forhigh radioactivity occurrence in vegetables compared to soil systems.

Keywords

vegetablesradionuclidesingestion dosecancer riskintake
Type
Article
Information
Radioprotection , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , April 2010 , pp. 183 - 199
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, 2010

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