Cuantificación de yodo-131 y potasio-40 en frutas cultivada en el oriente ecuatoriano

Abstract

The objective of this research was to determine the concentration of the specific activity of Iodine-131 and Potassium-40 in ten fruits and cultivated soils from Eastern Ecuador by gamma spectrometry. The samples were prepared in five stages: collection, peeling, dehydration, crushing and sieving. The analysis was carried out in the ESPOCH Nuclear Techniques laboratory, using the Rug 91-2 radiometer, with an acquisition time of 4 hours, with three repetitions per sample. The results of the measurements showed that Iodine131 is not present in any of the ten fruits studied, while the highest specific activity concentration of Potassium-40 was observed in the pitahaya (626 Bq/kg), and the lowest value in the chontaduro (304.65 Bq/kg). The absorption capacity of potassium-40 of fruit plants is variable, with meyer lemon, grapefruit, guava and chontaduro showing absorption percentages higher than 90%, avocado, pineapple and banana showing absorption percentages higher than 80%, and pitahaya, naranjilla and papaya showing absorption percentages higher than 70%. It is recommended to expand the database on the presence of Iodine-131 and Potassium-40 in other foods such as vegetables, legumes, among others, with a complementary analysis of the cultivated soils.