Radiological health risks assessment of vegetable and fruit samples taken from the provincial borders of Adıyaman in the south-eastern Anatolia region, in Turkey

In this study, the natural radionuclide activity concentrations such as 238U, 232Th and 4 K were measured in 65 vegetable-fruit samples taken from fields within provincial borders of Adıyaman in the south-eastern Anatolia region of Türkiye. An HPGe detector having the energy resolution of 1.85 keV at 1332.5 keV and 40% relative efficiency, p-type coaxial, covered with 10 cm thick lead shield was used to measure 238U, 232Th, and 4 K radionuclide activity concentrations of the samples of plant and fruit.238U, 232Th and 4 K radionuclide activity concentrations in vegetable and fruit samples are varied from 0.04 -2.39 Bk/kg, 0.08–2.14 Bq/kg and 28–252 Bq/kg, respectively. The mean radionuclide activity concentrations of 238U, 232Th and 4 K measured in fruits (peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, pumpkins, figs, and their stalks) and vegetables (leek, parsley and basil) were also calculated. For 238U and 4 K, the average radionuclide activity concentrations calculated in fruit stalks are generally higher than those calculated in fruits. However, this cannot be said for the 232Th. The measured mean radionuclide activity concentrations are smaller than the Worldwide mean value of 35 Bqkg−1, 30 Bqkg−1 and 400 Bqkg−1 for 238U, 232Th and 4 K, respectively, which is defined by UNSCEAR in 2000 year. The rate of absorbed dose measured in vegetable and fruit samples is much smaller than the World safety limit value defined by the ICRP in 1993. The calculated excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) values are higher than the world safe limit value (2.9 × 10−4 mSvy−1). Therefore, it can be said that there is a radiological risk.