Radiological assessment of alpha emitters radionuclides in commonly imported grains consumed in northeastern Iraq

Grains contain varying levels of radionuclides, and humans are exposed to these radionuclides both externally and internally through daily consumption. In this study, concentrations of alpha-emitting radionuclides were measured in commonly consumed imported grains in northeastern Iraq using CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs). The primary objective was to evaluate the safety of these grains for human consumption. The measured activity concentrations of 222 Rn, 226 Ra, 238 U, and radon daughters deposited on chamber walls (POW) and detector face surfaces (POS) ranged from 96.0 to 187.5 Bq/m 3 , 0.30 to 0.58 Bq/kg, 0.051 to 0.185 ppm, 29.7 to 58.0 Bq/m 3 , and 16.1 to 31.5 Bq/m 3 , with means of 133.6 Bq/m 3 , 0.41 Bq/kg, 0.102 ppm, 41.3 Bq/m 3 , and 22.4 Bq/m 3 , all well below internationally accepted safety limits. Furthermore, the annual ingestion dose ( ), excess lifetime cancer risk ( ), and effective external organ dose ( ) were estimated for three age groups based on the consumption of the studied grains. The calculated radiological indices generally remained below global reference values. Statistical analyses (skewness, kurtosis, Shapiro-Wilk test, and P -values) explored relationships alpha emitters concentrations and radiological risk parameters across all age groups.