Radioactivity in food crops from the family farms in Croatia with ingestion dose assessment

The results of radioactivity measurements and transfer factor calculations of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in various food crops from family farms in Croatia are presented. Measurements were performed using gamma spectrometry for K-40, Cs-137, Pb-210, Ra-226,Ra-228 and Th-228, liquid scintillation counting for Sr-90 and alpha spectrometry for Po-210. The activity concentrations were used to determine the annual ingestion dose for one - year - olds, ten - year - olds and adults, calculated to be 0.533, 0.666 and 0.348 mSv, respectively. 70% of the dose comes from Ra-228 and K-40. Other significant contributors are Ra-226, Pb-210 and Po-210. Contribution per foodstuff groups for one - year - olds as the most sensitive group in descending order is: cereals > leafy vegetables > fruits > non-leafy vegetables > tubers > roots vegetables > herbs >> nuts. All results are in line with worldwide studies and below the limit of 1 mSv/y.