Detection and measurement of radioactive substances in water and food: a narrative review
https://doi.org/10.4081/ijfs.2024.11651
Accepted: 16 January 2024
HTML: 0
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Contamination of food and water with radioactive substances is a serious health problem. There are several methods to detect and measure radioactive materials, some of which have been developed in recent years. This paper aims to discuss the methods of detecting and measuring radioactive substances in food and water. The principles and the advantages and disadvantages of each method have been discussed. The results showed that some of these methods, such as spectrometry γ-ray high-purity germanium, portable radon gas surveyor SILENA, RAD7, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, have a higher sensitivity for detection and measurement. The spectrometry γ-ray high-purity germanium method has attracted more attention than other methods because it can measure a wide range of radionuclides with high resolution.
Abojassim AA, Kadhim SH, Mraity HAA, Munim RR, 2017. Radon levels in different types of bottled drinking water and carbonated drinks in Iraqi markets. Water Supply 17:206-11.
Al-Ghamdi AH, 2018. Determination of natural radioactivity concentration in consumed nuts and seeds and their implications in human body. Univers J Public Health 6:198-202.
Al-jnaby MKM, 2016. Radon concentration in drinking water samples at Hilla city, Iraq. WSN 52:130-42.
Anderson EC, Schuch RL, Fisher WR, Langham W, 1957. Radioactivity of people and foods. Science 125:1273-8.
Binesh A, Arabshahi H, Pourhabib Z, 2011. Radioactivity and dose assessment of heavy radioactive pollution, radon and radium from water sources of 3 northern regions in Iran. Int J Phys Sci 6:7969-77.
Binesh A, Mohammadi S, Mowlavi AA, Parvaresh P, 2017. Evaluation of the radiation dose from radon ingestion and inhalation in drinking water. Afr J Water Conserv Sustain 5:201-05.
Binesh A, Mowlavi AA, Mohammadi S, 2012. Estimation of the effective dose from radon ingestion and inhalation in drinking water sources of Mashhad, Iran. Iran J Radiat Res 10:37-41.
Bonotto DM, Bueno TO, Tessari BW, Silva A, 2009. The natural radioactivity in water by gross alpha and beta measurements. Radiat Meas 44:92-101.
Brandhoff PN, Van Bourgondiën MJ, Onstenk CGM, Vos Van Avezathe A, Peters RJB, 2016. Operation and performance of a national monitoring network for radioactivity in food. Food Control 64:87-97.
Caroli S, Forte M, Nuccetelli C, Rusconi R, Risica S, 2013. A short review on radioactivity in drinking water as assessed by radiometric and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry techniques. Microchem J 107:95-100.
Charles M, 2001. UNSCEAR Report 2000: sources and effects of ionizing radiation.
Chmielewska I, Chałupnik S, Wysocka M, Smoliński A, 2020. Radium measurements in bottled natural mineral-, spring-and medicinal waters from Poland. Water Resour Ind 24:100133.
dell’Oro D, Iammarino M, Bortone N, Mangiacotti M, Chiaravalle AE, 2014. Determination of radiostrontium in milk samples by ultra-low-level liquid scintillation counting: a validated approach. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess 31:2014-21.
Desideri D, Roselli C, Feduzi L, Meli MA, 2007. Radiological characterization of drinking waters in Central Italy. Microchem J 87:13-9.
Duggal V, Sharma S, Kumar Srivastava A, Mehra R, 2018. Measurement of radon concentration in drinking water in Bhiwani district of Haryana. J Geol Soc India 91:700-3.
Ezzulddin SK, Ahmed AH, Samad AI, Othman SQ, 2017. Radioactivity measurement of nuts and seeds available in Erbil city markets. AIP Conf Proc 1888:020022.
FAO, WHO, 2017. Evaluation of certain contaminants in food: eighty-third report of the joint FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives. Available from: https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/254893/9789241210027-eng.pdf?sequence=1.
Forozani G, Soori G, 2011. Study on radon and radium concentrations in drinking water in west region of Iran. arXiv:1106.3646.
Forte M, Rusconi R, Margini C, Abbate G, Maltese S, Badalamenti P, Bellinzona S, 2001. Determination of uranium isotopes in food and environmental samples by different techniques: a comparison. Radiat Prot Dosimetry 97:325-8.
Görür FK, Keser R, Akçay N, Dizman S, 2012. Radioactivity and heavy metal concentrations of some commercial fish species consumed in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. Chemosphere 87:356-61.
Guérin N, Riopel R, Rao R, Kramer-Tremblay S, Dai X, 2017. An improved method for the rapid determination of 90Sr in cow's milk. J Environ Radioact 175:115-9.
Harley HN, 1979. Analysis of Foods for Radioactivity. Available from: https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk3/1979/7907/790720.PDF.
Hatif KH, Kadhim Muttaleb M, Hofdi Abass A, 2018. Measurement of radioactive radon gas concentrations of water in the schools for Abu-Gharaq. JUBPAS 26:174-80.
Heldal HE, Volynkin AS, Skjerdal HK, Komperød M, Naghchbandi P, Hannisdal R, 2017. Radioactive substances in Norwegian farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Available from: https://imr.brage.unit.no/imr-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2480424/Rapport_24-2017_Lakseprosjekt_endelig.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y.
Iammarino M, dell’Oro D, Bortone N, Chiaravalle AE, 2015. Beta emitter radionuclides (90Sr) contamination in animal feed: validation and application of a radiochemical method by ultra low level liquid scintillation counting. Ital J Food Saf 4:4531.
Iammarino M, dell’Oro D, Bortone N, Mangiacotti M, Chiaravalle AE, 2016. Optimisation and validation of a multi-matrix ultrasensible radiochemical method for the determination of radiostrontium in solid foodstuffs by liquid scintillation counting. Food Anal Method 9:95-104.
Idoeta R, Rozas S, Olondo C, Párraga A, Herranz M, 2018. 226 Ra determination in complex samples using liquid scintillation counting. J Radioanal Nucl Ch 318:1773-84.
Jibiri NN, Farai IP, Alausa SK, 2007. Activity concentrations of 226 Ra, 228 Th, and 40 K in different food crops from a high background radiation area in Bitsichi, Jos Plateau, Nigeria. Radiat Environ Biophys 46:53-9.
Jobbágy V, Wätjen U, Meresova J, 2010. Current status of gross alpha/beta activity analysis in water samples: a short overview of methods. J Radioanal Nucl Ch 286:393-9.
Khandaker MU, 2011. High purity germanium detector in gamma-ray spectrometry: High-Purity Germanium detector. Int J Fundam Phys Sci 1:42-6.
Kudo K, Kobayashi K, 1979. Determination of trace elements and radioactive materials by substoichiometric isotope dilution analysis. J Radioanal Chem 53:163-72.
L’Annunziata MF, 2012. Handbook of radioactivity analysis. Academic Press, Cambridge, MA, USA.
L’Annunziata MF, Tarancón A, Bagán H, García JF, 2020. Liquid scintillation analysis: principles and practice. In: L’Annunziata MF, ed. Handbook of radioactivity analysis. Academic Press, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Liu LY, Wang L, Jin P, Liu JL, Zhang XP, Chen L, Zhang JF, Ouyang XP, Liu A, Huang RH, 2017. The fabrication and characterization of Ni/4H-SiC schottky diode radiation detectors with a sensitive area of up to 4 cm2. Sensors (Basel) 17:2334.
Lou Y, Wan L, Ma Y, Li H, Meng Q, Kong Y, Zhu W, Wu D, Cui L, 2013. Survey on radioactive contamination in Beijing following the Japanese Fukushima nuclear accident. J Radiol Prot 33:661-8.
Marchesani G, Trotta G, De Felice P, Bortone N, Damiano R, Nicolini M, Accettulli R, Chiaravalle AE, Iammarino M, 2022. Fast and sensitive radiochemical method for Sr-90 determination in food and feed by chromatographic extraction and liquid scintillation counting. Food Anal Method 15:1521-34.
Mehra R, Bala P, 2014. Assessment of radiation hazards due to the concentration of natural radionuclides in the environment. Environ Earth Sci 71:901-9.
Meli MA, Desideri D, Roselli C, Feduzi L, Benedetti C, 2016. Radioactivity in honey of the central Italy. Food Chem 202:349-55.
Mercuri M, Pascual TNB, Mahmarian JJ, Shaw LJ, Rehani MM, Paez D, Einstein AJ, INCAPS Investigators Group, 2016. Comparison of radiation doses and best-practice use for myocardial perfusion imaging in US and non-US laboratories: findings from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Nuclear Cardiology Protocols Study. JAMA Intern Med 176:266-9.
Nasreddine L, Hwalla N, El Samad O, Leblanc JC, Hamzé M, Sibiril Y, Parent-Massin D, 2006. Dietary exposure to lead, cadmium, mercury and radionuclides of an adult urban population in Lebanon: a total diet study approach. Food Addit Contam 23:579-90.
Nkuba LL, Mohammed NK, 2014. Determination of radioactivity in maize and mung beans grown in the neighborhood of Minjingu phosphate mine, Tanzania. Tanz J Sci 40:49-57.
Orita M, Nakashima K, Taira Y, Fukuda T, Fukushima Y, Kudo T, Endo Y, Yamashita S, Takamura N, 2017. Radiocesium concentrations in wild mushrooms after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power station: follow-up study in Kawauchi village. Sci Rep 7:6744.
Pól J, Strohalm M, Havlíček V, Volný M, 2010. Molecular mass spectrometry imaging in biomedical and life science research. Histochem Cell Biol 134:423-43.
Rahimi M, Abadi AAM, Jabbari Koopaei L, 2018. The Measurement of radon gas dissolved in groundwater and determination of annual effective absorbed dose of radon gas in Zarand city in 2016. JRMUS 16:1126-37.
Ravikumar P, Somashekar RK, 2014. Determination of the radiation dose due to radon ingestion and inhalation. Int J Environ Sci Technol 11:493-508.
Rožmarić M, Rogić M, Benedik L, Štrok M, 2012. Natural radionuclides in bottled drinking waters produced in Croatia and their contribution to radiation dose. Sci Total Environ 437:53-60.
Sahin L, Çetinkaya H, Murat Saç M, Içhedef M, 2013. Determination of radon and radium concentrations in drinking water samples around the city of Kutahya. Radiat Prot Dosimetry 155:474-82.
Santos JS, Teixeira LSG, Dos Santos WNL, Lemos VA, Godoy JM, Ferreira SLC, 2010. Uranium determination using atomic spectrometric techniques: an overview. Anal Chim Acta 674:143-56.
Skwarzec B, Strumińska DI, Boryło A, 2003. Radionuclides of 210 Po, 234 U and 238 U in drinking bottled mineral water in Poland. J Radioanal Nucl Ch 256:361-4.
Snihs JO, 1983. Measurement Techniques for radon in mines, dwellings and the environment. Available from: https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/15/043/15043323.pdf.
Sujo LC, Cabrera MEM, Villalba L, Renteria Villalobos M, Torres Moye E, Garcia Leon M, García-Tenorio R, Mireles García F, Herrera Peraza EF, Sánchez Aroche D, 2004. Uranium-238 and thorium-232 series concentrations in soil, radon-222 indoor and drinking water concentrations and dose assessment in the city of Aldama, Chihuahua, Mexico. J Environ Radioact 77:205-19.
Tabar E, Yakut H, 2014. Determination of 226Ra concentration in bottled mineral water and assessment of effective doses, a survey in Turkey. Int J Radiar Res 12:193-201.
Vosniakos FK, 2012. Radioactivity transfer in environment and food. Springer Berlin, Heidelberg, Germany.
Weller A, 2017. Determination of strontium-90 in food concentrates from Japan. Available from: https://www.irs.uni-hannover.de/fileadmin/irs/Arbeiten/Master/mastwell.pdf.
Yokota M, Watanabe T, Nomura H, Akimoto Y, Onchi H, 2017. Trend of radioactivity in fisheries products. Rep Mar Ecol Res Inst 22:27-36.
Yoo WJ, Shin SH, Lee DE, Jang KW, Cho S, Lee B, 2015. Development of a small-sized, flexible, and insertable fiber-optic radiation sensor for gamma-ray spectroscopy. Sensors 15:21265-79.
Copyright (c) 2024 the Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
Downloads
Citations
