Assessment of committed effective dose from ingestion of 137Cs in seafood from coastal areas of Zhejiang province

Objective To investigate the contents of radionuclide 137Cs in seafood from coastal areas of Zhejiang province, and to estimate the annual committed effective dose to population in different regions from ingestion of 137Cs in seafood. Methods Three representative monitoring areas were set on the coastaline of Zhejiang province, and the locally popular seafoods were selected as monitoring objectives. The contents of radionuclide 137Cs were detected using HPGe γ spectrometry. The committed effective doses were estimated based on monitoring results and consumption data on seafoods in Zhejiang. Results The detection ratio of 137Cs in seafood produced on coastal areas of Zhejiang province was estimated to be 35.3% (36/102). Specific activity detected ranged from 0.004 to 0.140 Bq/(kg, Wet). Committed effective doses from ingestion of 137Cs in one year to the population in island region, coastal region and inland region were 3.03×10-5, 1.63×10-5, 3.38×10-6 mSv, respectively, far lower than the world committed effective dose resulting from internal exposure. Conclusions At present, the content level of 137Cs in seafood produced on the coastal areas of Zhejiang province is much lower than the national standard limit, and the dose burden to the population is very minor with no health impact to the population. Key words: Gamma spectrometer; Sea products; 137Cs; Annual committed effective dose