Radon Concentration, Effective Radium Content and Radon Exhalation Rates in Culinary Herbs and Spices from Iraqi Markets using CR-39 Detectors

Culinary herbs and spices are widely consumed in Iraq, making the assessment of their natural radioactivity important for establishing baseline radiological data. This study aimed to determine radon concentration, effective radium content, surface radon exhalation rate, and mass radon exhalation rate in twelve selected herbs and spices using CR-39 solid-state nuclear track detectors. The measured radon concentration ranged from 174.33 to 292.74 Bq·m⁻³, with a mean of 235.06 ± 34.35 Bq·m⁻³, while the effective radium content ranged from 0.965 to 1.621 Bq·kg⁻¹, with an average of 1.301 ± 0.193 Bq·kg⁻¹. The surface and mass radon exhalation rates ranged from 0.102 to 0.171 Bq·m⁻²·h⁻¹ and 0.0085 to 0.0143 Bq·kg⁻¹·h⁻¹, respectively. Garlic exhibited the highest values for the investigated radiological parameters, whereas cumin showed the lowest values. The results provide baseline radiological data for the investigated herbs and spices and may support future studies and environmental radioactivity monitoring, and further dose and risk assessments of plant-derived food products in Iraqi markets.