Estimation the cancer risk due to ingestion the food spices commonly used in Iraqi kitchen

Abstract

Abstract Spices are natural substances taken from special plants and have a different taste when added to food and some of them have great benefits for health and body. These plants vary from country to country depending on the type of soil and how they are grown and this affects their quality. In this study, the specific activity of 40K, 238U and 232Th series and 137Cs in some selected natural food spices commonly used in Iraq kitchen were determined using gamma spectrometry and the ingested doses via food consumption were also assessed. The average specific activity of 40K, 238U, 232Th and 137Cs in the samples are 72.00 Bqkg−1, 106.576Bqkg−1, 148.74 and 191.88 Bq.kg−1 respectively. The highest activity concentration of 40K, 238U, 232Th and 137Cs was recorded in cumin (401.7) for 40K, laurel paper (260.67) for 238U, briana spices (733.7) for 232Th and Chamomile (833.4) for 137Cs. The maximum value of total annual effective dose received from 40K, 238U, 232Th and 137Cs due to consumption of natural spices by the inhabitants was 169.83 μSvy−1. This value is low compared to the average radiation dose of 290 μSvy−1 received per caput worldwide due to ingestion the food spices. The excess lifetime cancer risk due to ingestion of radionuclide in food spices was estimated and the values obtained were compared with standards. Based on these results it can be concluded that the foods spices studied in this work do not present any serious radiological effect. Spices are natural substances taken from special plants and have a different taste when added