Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Physics, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
  • 2 Department of Physics, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia [email protected]
  • 3 Department of Restorative Dentistry, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
  • 4 Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU4 8JU, UK
Radiat Prot Dosimetry, 2015 Nov;167(1-3):165-70.
PMID: 25935008 DOI: 10.1093/rpd/ncv237

Abstract

Vegetable is an essential daily diet item for the people of Malaysia. This work addressed the radiation and heavy metal exposure scenarios through the consumption of vegetables. Kuala Selangor is located in Sungai Selangor estuary in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, which is susceptible to pollution load due to the presence of large-scale industrial and human activities. Radioactivity and heavy metals level in human diet is of particular concern for the assessment of possible radiological and chemical hazards to human health. Therefore, a comprehensive study was carried out to determine the radioactivity levels ((226)Ra, (228)Ra and (40)K) and heavy metal concentrations (Cr, As, Cd, Mn, Mg, Al, Sr, Rb, Sb, Ba, Hg, Fe, Ni, Zn, Cu, Bi and Pb) in 10 varieties of vegetable collected from different farmlands in Kuala Selangor region. The committed doses for (226)Ra, (228)Ra and (40)K due to consumption of vegetables were found 16.6±1.3, 23.6±1.7 and 58±5 µSv y(-1), respectively, with a total of 98±8 µSv y(-1). This dose imposes no significant threat to human health. The estimated cancer risk shows that probability of increase in cancer risk from daily intake of vegetables is only a minor fraction of International Commission on Radiological Protection values. The concentrations of heavy metal were below the daily intake recommended by the international organisations.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.