K Level in some Commercially Consumed food crops collected from some villages in Barkin Ladi LGA, Plateau State Nigeria

Abstract

The specific activity concentrations and the derived Annual Effective Doses in food crops cultivated and consumed within and outside the study area were measured by using a multi-channel pulse analyzer (Canberra series 10 plus coupled to a 76mm x 76mmNaI(Tl) scintillation detector. The activity concentrations of 40K ranged from 153.92 ± 5.28Bq/kg to 41.59 ± 6.60Bq/kg with a mean value of 111.27 ± 4.65Bq/kg. The annual Effective Dose was also calculated and the values ranged from 25.00μSvy-1 to 10.23μSvy-1 with an average of 14.69μSvy-1. The discrepancies in the results might be attributed to geological factors such as soil formation, application of fertilizer and differences in the type of crops analyzed. Although the results obtained were within the standard limit and may not pose any health hazard.