The radioactivity assessment of local and imported rice in Erbil city

This study involved collecting samples of 27 different rice varieties from local markets in Erbil, Kurdistan region, Iraq. Measurements were performed using the NaI (Tl) scintillation detector system. The specific activity of 232Th, 226Ra, and 40K radionuclides in the rice samples ranged (0.13-1.79) Bq kg-1, (0.16-8.3) Bq kg-1, and (77.1-180) Bq kg-1, respectively. The total annual effective dose (AE) in the rice samples ranged from 32.37 µSv y-1 to 116.42 µSv y-1, which obtained due to an ingestion of radionuclides via rice consumption, the values of AE were lower than the global value of 290 µSv y-1, as reported by UNSCEAR 2008. The excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) ranged from 0.113 to 0.407×10−4, below the acceptable value of 2.9×10-4, as reported by UNSCEAR 2000. In addition, the internal hazard index (Hin) ranged from 0.33 to 0.70 and the external hazard index (Hex) ranged from 0.025 to 0.046. Estimated radiological indices were below the overall limit value of 1. The study used multivariate statistical techniques including descriptive statistics, histogram and Pearson correlation analysis to investigate the relationship between specific natural radioactivity and associated radiological parameters. The study utilized multivariate statistical analysis techniques, including descriptive statistics, histograms, and Pearson correlation analyses, to investigate the relationship between the specific activity of natural radionuclides and the associated radiological parameters. Thus, the studied rice brands are radiologically safe as an essential foodstuff in Erbil Governorate.