Assessment of radioactivity concentrations and effective of radionuclides in selected fruits from major markets at Ijebu – Ode in Ogun State, southwest of Nigeria

Abstract

Natural Radionuclides are elements that are found in the air, water and soil. They find their ways in to the plants through the leaves and absorption of nutrients and water from the soil through the roots. Intake of fruits is very essential for human beings as part of balance diet. The concentrations of natural radionuclides in some fruits from three major markets at Ijebu- Ode town in Nigeria were determined and annual committed effective dose to the consumers was also determined. The gamma spectrometry method was used for the analysis. The highest concentrations of ⁴⁰K, ²³⁸U and ²³²Th were from pineapple of value 102.36 ± 10.81Bqkg^-1, orange of value 12.18 ± 4.36Bqkg^-1 and mango of value 8.01 ± 3.25 Bqkg^-1 respectively. The average annual committed effective dose of the natural radionuclides to the consumers was calculated to be 0.11mSvyr^-1, which is below the limit of 0.3mSvyr^-1 recommended globally. This indicates that the ingestion of these radionuclides through the consumption of these fruits has no radiological health hazard to the consumers.

Keywords: Fruit, radionuclides, concentration, dose, gamma spectrometry