Annual effective dose and concentration levels of gross alpha and beta in Turkish market tea

Gorur F. K., Keser R., Akcay N., As N., Dizman S.

IRANIAN JOURNAL OF RADIATION RESEARCH, vol.10, no.2, pp.67-72, 2012 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 10 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2012
  • Journal Name: IRANIAN JOURNAL OF RADIATION RESEARCH
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.67-72
  • Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Background: Tea is one of the most popular beverages all over the world which is prepared from the leaves of a shrub camellia sinensis. Eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey which account for around 100% of all tea production in Turkey was among the areas contaminated by Chernobyl accident. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive study was planned and carried out to determine the level of gross alpha and beta radioactivity and annual effective dose equivalent in different Turkish market tea using LSC. Results: The average measurements for digestion and infusion are 5.0 mBql(-1) and 1.8 mBql(-1) for gross alpha, 80.7 mBql(-1) and 9.0 mBql(-1) for gross beta in tea samples. Contributions of the infusion tea samples to total annual effective dose equivalent from U-238, U-234, Th-230, Ra-226, Po-210, Th-232, Th-238, Pb-210 and Ra-228 are 0.103, 0.112, 0.480, 0.640, 2.742, 0.525, 0.164, 7.740 and 7.740 mu Svy(-1) for adults. Conclusion: The obtained results showed that natural activity concentrations of alpha- and beta-emitting radionuclides and annual effective dose equivalent in tea samples did not exceed WHO recommended levels. Iran. J. Radiat. Res., 2012; 10(2): 67-72