Work

Natural radioactivity in soils and medicinal plants of the Sundarban: Concomitant radiological risks and radionuclide transfer factor

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The natural radioactivity ( 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40 K) levels of some medicinal plants and soils in the Sundarban mangrove ecosystem in Bangladesh were assessed for the first time using gamma-ray spectrometry. Depth-wise activity concentration variations for most of the soil cores indicate an increase in radiological contamination in recent years. Although some radiological hazard parameters for soils are higher than the global average values, excess lifetime cancer risk values are below the acceptable limit. The activity concentrations of 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40 K in the studied medicinal plant leaves varies from 9.03 ± 3.01 to 66.9 ± 8.2 Bq kg −1 , 25.3 ± 5.0 to 155 ± 16 Bq kg −1 , and 68.1 ± 8.3 to 139 ± 12 Bq kg −1 , respectively. For the studied medicinal plants, the soil-to-plant transfer factors of 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40 K ranged from 0.20 to 1.36, 0.27 to 2.08, and 0.036 to 0.108, respectively. This study indicates that people's consumption of medicinal plants is radiologically safe. The present study assessed radiological risks to develop new strategies to save the sensitive Sundarban ecosystem.

Source: Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences

DOI: 10.1016/j.jrras.2024.101071

Authors: Shaiful Kabir, Mohammad Amirul Islam, Mohammad Belal Hossen

Institutions: Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission

Language: English

Topic: Radioactivity and Radon Measurements

Subfield: Radiological and Ultrasound Technology

Field: Health Professions

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Life on land, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,400