Evaluation of radiation hazards and risk assessment in agricultural soil and commonly consumed vegetables in the district of Klang, Malaysia
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-1-2022
Abstract
Commonly consumed vegetables and their surrounding soil samples are gathered from a farm located in Klang, Selangor. Gamma spectrometry has been utilized to analyze the activity concentration of the natural radionuclides, Ra-226, Th-232, and K-40 in nine vegetables and soil samples collected. These data are used to evaluate the hazard indices in the soil samples and their radiological exposure to humans. It is found that the external hazard index Hex ranged from 0.05 to 0.44 with a mean value of 0.14. The internal hazard index H-in of the soil samples ranged from 0.05 to 0.56 with a mean value of 0.17. Both Hex and Hin average values are lower than the limit established by the European Commission for Radiation Protection. The absorbed dose rate D-N, The annual ingestion dose A(eff), annual effective dose equivalent AEDE, and excess life-time cancer risk, are used to learn the potential risk on the general public consuming these vegetables. For the vegetable sample, it is found that the average value for the DN is 6.70 nGyh(-1) and ranged between 1.75 to 16.94 nGyh(-1). The average value of A(eff) is 10.17 mu Sv, and it ranges from 2.54 mu Sv to 22.89 mu Sv. The range of AEDE is between 2.15 mu Sv and 20.78 mu S, with an average value of 8.21 mu Sv. Excess life-time cancer risk ELCR is used to determine the likelihood of cancer development due to the radiological exposure of consuming these vegetables. It is found that the average value of ELCR is 2.87 x10(-5), and the range is from 0.75x10-5 to 7.27x10-5. Both the A(eff) and AEDE are found to be lower than the average world value recommended by UNSCEAR.
Keywords
annual ingestion dose, radiation hazard, naturally occurring radionuclide, hazard index, absorbed dose rate
Divisions
PHYSICS,umpedac
Funders
Universiti Malaya [IIRG007A-19IISS],Erasmus+ [598987-EPP-1-2018-1-MY-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP],Erasmus+ [2018-2501/001-001],Erasmus+ IF006-2019]
Publication Title
NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY & RADIATION PROTECTION
Volume
37
Issue
2
Publisher
VINCA INST NUCLEAR SCI
Publisher Location
MIHAJLA PETROVICA-ALASA 12-14 VINCA, 11037 BELGRADE. POB 522, BELGRADE, 11001, SERBIA