Radioanalytical models applied to the investigation of caesium signatures in sugar samples

Abstract

The presence of anthropogenic radioisotopes in the environment may be due to inappropriate discards, nuclear tests and accidents, which requires and justifies constant monitoring to ensure the safety of nuclear applications. The radiometric analysis is a necessary condition for exporting sugar for world consumption. The investigation of ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs in a sugar matrix is required to predict radiometric anomalies. This work aimed to standardise a semi-empirical radiometric model to characterise and quantify caesium isotopes in sugar. The research was carried out with high-resolution gamma spectrometry, a non-destructive method. The results were applied to the analysis of different types of sugar for export. The models allowed us to determine with excellent resolution the minimum quantifiable activities of 0.74 Bq kg⁻¹ and 0.48 Bq kg⁻¹ for ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs, respectively, which are lower than 600 Bq kg⁻¹, reference values adopted by the EU for isotopes in food.

Keywords:

• Food
• sugar
• radiometric models
• nuclear
• radiometric
• radionuclides

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Federal University of Pernambuco, the Center of Technology and Geosciences, and the Department of Nuclear Energy for the infrastructure provided.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for the doctoral grants [processes #140513/2018-3, #141512/2019-9 and #141147/2021-0] and for the Research Productivity 2 grant [processes #305125/2018-4 and #303079/2020-7]; the Foundation for Support to Science and Technology of the State of Pernambuco (FACEPE) for the postdoctoral fellowship [process #APQ-0245-3.01/21 and BFP-0101-3.01/21] and a scientific initiation scholarship [process #BIC-0095-4.06/22].