Evaluation of the radiological safety of fish and vegetables for consumption in Cienfuegos, Cuba

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Rita Y. Sibello Hernández
Yusdiany Pereira Cuellar
Héctor Alejandro Cartas Águila

Abstract

It is important that the foods are safe, that is, they are not associated with risks to the health of consumers. In this sense, from a radiological point of view, it is necessary to guarantee that the presence of radionuclides in food is as low as possible. Thus, the main objective of this research was to determine the concentrations of the radionuclides: iodine – 131 (I-131); cesium – 134 (Cs-134), cesium – 137 (Cs - 137), americium – 241 (Am - 241), of artificial origin and radium -226 (Ra - 226) and potassium – 40 (K - 40), of natural origin, in the monitored vegetables in the organoponics from the Cienfuegos city and in fish and other marine organisms for consumption, from the Cienfuegos Bay to evaluate their safety. The method used for the measurement was low background gamma spectrometry. The result was that the levels of artificial radionuclides are below of the detection limit of the method, which means that these radionuclides are not present in these foods and therefore are free of radioactive contamination. With respect to natural radionuclides, only K – 40 is present in foods and the determined values correspond to their natural concentrations reported in foods. It was concluded that the monitored foods are safe from a radiological point of view. These results are a contribution of the Environmental Studies Center of Cienfuegos to the management of food safety in Cuba.

Article Details

How to Cite
Sibello Hernández, R. Y., Pereira Cuellar, Y., & Cartas Águila, H. A. (2025). Evaluation of the radiological safety of fish and vegetables for consumption in Cienfuegos, Cuba. Nucleus, (75), 33-37. Retrieved from http://nucleus.cubaenergia.cu/index.php/nucleus/article/view/806
Section
Ciencias Nucleares

References

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