Radon in coconut water, non-alcoholic carbonated beverages and fruit juices consumed in Bangladesh and concomitant health risk

Radon, a known carcinogenic gaseous radionuclide, has the ability to dissolve into liquids during processing or be absorbed by plants from soil and water. This radioactive gas rises from the sample and enters the homes and human lungs daily. The present study aims to measure activity concentration of radon (RAC) in three types of beverages including nonalcoholic carbonated beverages, fruit juices and coconut water using RAD7 detector to assess health risk due to radon intake. Total 44 samples (including 20 coconut water, 10 carbonated beverages and 14 fruit juices) are collected from local supermarkets in Dhaka city which are mostly consumed by the population of Bangladesh. The result of RAC for coconut water, carbonated beverages and fruit juices were found to be 0.04 ± 0.01 Bq/L to 0.29 ± 0.09 Bq/L (with an overall mean of 0.15 ± 0.06 Bq/L), 0.07 ± 0.02 Bq/L to 0.18 ± 0.08 Bq/L (with an overall mean of 0.12 ± 0.05 Bq/L) and 0.07 ± 0.02 Bq/L to 0.23 ± 0.06 Bq/L with an overall mean of 0.17 ± 0.04 Bq/L, respectively. The activity concentration of ²²⁶Ra was found below the MDA value of HPGe detector. Carbonated beverages found lower radon level compared to coconut water and fruit juices, likely due to stripping (degassing) effects. Some physicochemical parameters including pH, Conductivity, Titratable Acidity, Viscosity and Brix of the investigated samples were also measured to understand the association with radon concentration. The annual effective dose due to ingestion for children and adults due to the consumption of these drinks and excess life time cancer risk (ELCR) was found below the recommended limit of 100 µSvy⁻¹ and 0.29 × 10⁻³, respectively. Note that, the UNSCEAR reference limit considers total radiation exposures from all foodstuffs including diverse beverages consumption, therefore, periodic monitoring of radiation levels in foodstuffs is considered necessary.