Abstract

The radioisotopes and nuclear explosions in upper layers of the atmosphere have vigorously polluted the earth. These radionuclides can be transferred to humans through the food chain. Rice is important and a major source of carbohydrates for humans. Soil contains the natural radionuclide such as Uranium, Thorium and Potassium. A study was conducted to determine the radionuclide content and their level of radioactivity in various types of rice eaten by the Malaysian. Six varieties of rice, Faiza Basmati, white glutinous, black glutinous, Siam, Kurnia and Utara were taken under consideration. Hyper Pure Germanium Detector (HYPe) was used to measure the radioactivity level. The average concentration of Uranium, Thorium and Potassium was found to be in the range of (18.33-25.10)±0.01 BqKg^-1, (35.49-64.97)±0.01 BqKg^-1 and  (64.802-109.929) ± 0.001 BqKg^-1respectively. Effective dose per annum was resided in the range of 0.02μSv year^-1 to 0.03μSv year^-1.

Key words: Radioactivity, rice, uranium, thorium, potassium, Malaysia.