Radon Flux and Radium Content Determination in Cereals Products

Abstract

Abstract
Radon (222Rn) in air is ubiquitous. Radon is a form of ionizing radiation and lung cancer is the only known effect on human exposure to radon in air. The radon gas can enter into the human body through respiring, drinking and eating and caused damage to respiratory and digestion system. Cereals products available in market were experimented by “Sealed Can Technique” using LR-II solid state nuclear track detectors which are very sensitive for alpha particles. Excellent correlation has been observed between radon flux and radium content in terms of area and mass in cereal. The value of effective radium content ranges from 31.654 ± 2.133 to 187.610 ± 5.698 mBq/kg with a mean value of 157.159 ± 49.535 mBq/kg. The radon flux in terms of area ranges from 1.053 ± 0.671 to 10.770 ± 2.684 μBq/m2.s with a mean value of 6.537 ± 2.823, also the radon flux in terms of mass ranges from 0.075 ± 0.008 to 0.0342 ± 0.189 μBq/kg.s with a mean value of 0.256 ± 0.113 μBq/kg.s for the same samples. The radium concentrations in the samples that have been studied and the associated radon flux do not pose a risk to human health.

Keywords: Can technique, radon flux, radium content, cereals

Cite this Article
Raj Kumari. Radon Flux and Radium Content Determination in Cereals Products. Journal of Nuclear Engineering & Technology. 2018; 8(1): 7–10p.