Measurement of 226Ra, 232Th, 137Cs and 40K activities of Wheat and Corn Products in Ilam Province -- Iran and Resultant Annual Ingestion Radiation Dose.

Background: Background: Natural background radiation is the main source of human exposure to radioactive material. Soils naturally have radioactive mineral contents. The aim of this study is to determine natural (²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K) and artificial (¹³⁷Cs) radioactivity levels in wheat and corn fields of Eilam province. Methods: HPGe detector was used to measure the concentration activity of ²³⁸U and ²³²Th series, ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs in wheat and corn samples taken from different regions of Eilam province, in Iran. Results: In wheat and corn samples, the average activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs were found to be 1.67, 0.5, 91.73, 0.01 and 0.81, 0.85, 101.52, 0.07 Bq/kg (dry weight), respectively. H_ex and H_in in the present work are lower than 1. The average value of H_ex was found to be 0.02 and 0.025 and average value of H_in to be found 0.025 and 0.027 in wheat fields samples and corn samples in Eilam provinces, respectively. The obtained values of AGDE are 30.49 mSv/yr for wheat filed samples and 37.89 mSv/yr for corn samples; the AEDE rate values are 5.28 mSv/yr in wheat filed samples and this average value was found to be 6.13 mSv/yr in corn samples in Eilam. Transfer factors (TFs) of long lived radionuclide such as ¹³⁷Cs, ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K from soils to corn and wheat plants have been studied by radiotracer experiments. Conclusion: The natural radioactivity levels in Eilam province are not at the range of high risk of morbidity and are under international standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]