Estimation of annual effective dose rate due to the ingestion of the primordial radionuclide ~(40)K for the population around the Kalpakkam nuclear site, Tamil Nadu, India

摘要

A study was carried out to estimate the ingestion dose for the general population residing around Kalpakkam nuclear site due to ~(40)K activity in the fresh and cooked food samples collected from the surrounding areas. For the estimation of specific activity of ~(40)K, food samples consisting of 31 numbers of market basket samples (MBS) and 33 numbers of duplicate diet samples (DDS) were collected, conditioned, and analyzed by gamma spectrometry. The annual effective dose (AED) received by the population was estimated based on ~(40)K activity in the food samples, food consumption data, and ICRP model. Uncertainty associated with the estimates was quantified based on the guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement framework approach. The ~(40)K specific activity in MBS ranged from 10.44 ± 1.11 to 129.00 ± 13.64 Bq/kg fresh weight. Similarly, the ~(40)K specific activity in DDS ranged from 10.85 ± 1.10 to 60.71 ± 6.15 Bq/kg fresh weight. The AED due to the ingestion of ~(40)K estimated based on MBS was 93.81 ± 7.30 μSv/year. Similarly, the AED due to the ingestion of ~(40)K estimated based on DDS was 33.47 ± 0.79 μSv/year among males and 26.31 ± 0.62 μSv/year among females.