Assessment the health Risks of Radionuclides 238 U, 232 Th and 40 K that influencing on Wheat: Case study in Al- Qadisiyah, Iraq

• Published in: E3S web of conferences 2023, Vol.405, p.2021
• Main Authors: Kadhim, Amer Y., Al-Ghrabi, Majied G., Alsafi, Haneen M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2267-1242; 2267-1242
• DOI: 10.1051/e3sconf/202340502021

Wheat is one of the most important ingredients used by the Iraqi people. The significant aspect of this study is the detection of radioactive isotope absorption in grains. The nuclear detector NaI (Tl) was used to measure the natural concentration of radionuclides 238 U, 232 Th and 40 K in wheat and soil. The average concentrations of these radionuclides in the soil samples were 7.774±0.465, 2.301±0.217 and 270.985±3.322 Bq.kg− 1 for 238 U, 232 Th and 40 K, respectively. Their average concentrations in the wheat samples were 7.774±0.465, 1.383±0.179 and 0.361±0.086 Bq.kg -1 for 238 U, 232 Th and 40 K, respectively. The average values of the transfer factors (TFs) from soil to wheat of 238 U, 232 Th and 40 K were calculated as 0.069, 0.179 and 0.175, respectively. These TFs showed that the movement of these radionuclides in the soil samples was poor compared with previous results. The concentrations found were less than the allowable limits of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. Therefore, the findings revealed no major risks to human health and edible grains are healthy to consume.