title: Long lived gamma emitting radionuclides in incense.
abstract: A study of long-lived gamma emitters in incense was performed. The incense samples originated from seven different countries, and the investigated radionuclides were Ra, Ra, and K. Gamma spectroscopy revealed the presence of all three investigated radionuclides in all samples. Interestingly, the activity concentrations revealed a clear bimodal distribution that distinguished samples that were natural incense from others that were processed incense. The activity concentrations in the latter group were found to be one order of magnitude greater than in the former group. Consequently, the estimated annual effective dose from the latter group was one order of magnitude higher than that of the former group. Nonetheless, the doses from both groups were found to be some three orders of magnitude less than the average worldwide exposure to inhaled natural radionuclides. This finding suggests the radiological safety of incense for the investigated radionuclides.
authors: Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Kuwait University, Khaldia, Kuwait. tareq@washington.edu
authors: Tareq
authors: T
authors: Alrefae
mesh_terms: D005720:Gamma Rays; D006207:Half-Life; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D012906:Smoke / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D011868:Radioisotopes; D012906:Smoke