Speaker
Dr
Nasser Alkhomashi
(King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Saudi Arabia)
Description
Studies of radioactivity in sea foods are important in estimating the radiological hazards and dose exposure to the public. The importance has increased following Japan’s devastating 2011 earthquake and the following nuclear accident of Fukushima power plant. This is because there is a fear about risks of leaked radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to the Pacific Ocean which might have potential impacts on the marine food web. Fish and other sea foods normally concentrate radioactive elements particularly, 137Cs and 134Cs in their flesh which are eventually passed to humans. Saudi Arabia is importing different types of sea foods from all over the world including countries from the Pacific Ocean and Japan. Hence, there is a need to analyse the radioactivity levels in samples of sea food consumed in Saudi Arabia for safety consumption. In this study canned tuna samples which were produced in Japan and other places in the world were collected in different supermarkets of Riyadh. The samples were produced in July 2011 to 2012 a period which is post Fukushima nuclear accident of April 2011. The samples were analysed for 137Cs, 134Cs and40K using gamma spectrometry to provide information that can verify the extent and the nature of the level of radionuclides in fish associated with nuclear accident of Fukushima in Japan.
Primary author
Dr
Nasser Alkhomashi
(King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Saudi Arabia)
Co-author
Dr
Mohammed Al khorayef
(2Department of Radiological Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia)
