RADIOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT FROM THE INTAKE OF VEGETABLES AND FRUITS IN MALAYSIA

Abstract

The activity concentration of natural radionuclides 226 Ra, 232 Th and 40 K in vegetables and fruits in central zone of Malaysia were measured using gamma spectrometry. This is for the purpose of assessing the radiological risk in term of ingestion dose and cancer risk. The total ingestion dose from the consumption of vegetables were found to be 0.469 0.003, 0.326 0.005 and 0.232 0.003 mSv/y for infants, children and adults respectively. Whereas the total ingestion dose from the consumption of fruits for infants, children and adults were 0.349 0.005, 0.283 0.007 and 0.195 0.004 mSv/y respectively. The estimated cancer risk from the consumption of vegetables and fruits were 8.13 10 -4 and 6.83 10 -4 respectively for adults. The results obtained for activity concentration, dose and risk were found to be below the internationally recommended level. This indicates that the vegetables and fruits consumed in Malaysia would not pose any significant radiological impact to the population.