Radionuclide Uptake and Soil-to-Plant Transfer Factor of Naturally Occurring Radionuclides (²³⁸U, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K) in Leafy Vegetables from Farming Areas in Sohag, Upper Egypt.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ministry of Education, Egypt

2 Physics, Faculty of Scienceو Sohag University Sohag, Egypt

Abstract

This study quantified the activity concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides (²³⁸U, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K) in 25 soil and 25 leafy vegetable samples. These were taken from farming areas in the Sohag Governorate, Upper Egypt, during both the summer and winter months.
Gamma spectroscopy, utilizing a calibrated High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector, was employed for radionuclide analysis. The radium equivalent activity (Raeq) and soil-to-plant transfer factors (TF) were calculated to assess radiological hazard and radionuclide uptake, respectively.
Results indicated that activity concentrations of ²³⁸U (9.23-20.17 Bq/kg), ²³²Th (12.69-23.76 Bq/kg) and ⁴⁰K (178.80-373.90 Bq/kg) in soil samples were below established global safety limits. In plant samples, activity concentrations were also within safe limits, with ⁴⁰K exhibiting the highest average concentration (126.5 Bq/kg).
Raeq values for both soil (41.14-79.23 Bq/kg) and plant samples (10.43-34.38 Bq/kg) were significantly below the 370 Bq/kg safety threshold. TF values indicated differential radionuclide uptake by plants, with ⁴⁰K demonstrating the highest average TF (0.41), reflecting its biological significance.
Overall, the measured radionuclide concentrations and transfer behaviors suggest that the cultivation and consumption of leafy vegetables in the studied region do not pose significant radiological health risks.

Keywords

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics