Natural Radionuclides Concentrations and Annual Effective Dose in Seasonal Fruits of Bangladesh

The aim of the present study was to investigate the activity concentrations of natural radionuclides in different seasonal fruits of Bangladesh. In total 20 samples of 16 different kinds of fruits were collected from the local markets of Bangladesh. The radioactivity of these samples was measured by using Gamma Spectrometry System. The radioactivity of natural radionuclides in the studied seasonal fruit samples were found to be ranged from BDL to 31.13±10.63 Bqkg⁻¹ with an average 10.95 Bqkg⁻¹ due to ²³⁸U, from 1.55±0.73 to 34.59±7.43 Bqkg⁻¹ with an average 6.68 Bqkg⁻¹ due to ²³²Th and from BDL to 733.25±61.17 Bqkg⁻¹ with an average 308 Bqkg⁻¹ due to ⁴⁰K. Artificial radionuclide was not found in the studied fruit samples. The maximum activities of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K were observed, respectively in coconut, jujube and papaya. However, the average concentrations of all radionuclides mentioned above in the studied samples were found to be less than the world average. The total annual internal effective dose from the consumption of radioactive fruits was found to be 8.39 μSv/y. The value the annual effective dose in all samples in this study was lower than ICRP 72; therefore, the values natural radioactivity and annual effective dose in the seasonal fruits are found to be safe and no health-hazards are createdfor the population of Bangladesh.