RESUMEN
Specific activity of 137Cs, 40K, and 210Pb radionuclides in fifteen selected medicinal herbs from three locations in Central Serbia (two mountains, Kopaonik and Zlatar, and a valley, Sokobanja) was measured using two semiconductor HPGe spectrometer systems. The obtained values are in intervals (<0.3â¯÷â¯9.7) Bq/kg, (<0.2â¯÷â¯24.7) Bq/kg, and (<0.2â¯÷â¯5.7) Bq/kg for 137Cs; in intervals (125â¯÷â¯1100) Bq/kg, (104â¯÷â¯872) Bq/kg, and (103â¯÷â¯954) Bq/kg for 40K, and in intervals (3.6â¯÷â¯49.0) Bq/kg, (3.9â¯÷â¯57.9) Bq/kg, and (2.8â¯÷â¯103) Bq/kg for 210Pb, for herbs from Kopaonik, Sokobanja and Zlatar, respectively. The highest activity measured in individual herbs was: 24.7â¯Bq/kg for 137Cs (Sokobanja valley), 1100â¯Bq/kg for 40K (Mt. Kopaonik) and 103â¯Bq/kg for 210Pb (Mt. Zlatar). The corresponding individual annual effective doses due to ingestion calculated from the measured activity concentrations, of the radionuclides are: in intervals (<1.7â¯÷â¯82.9) nSv, (<1.4â¯÷â¯211) nSv, and (<1.1â¯÷â¯48.7) nSv for 137Cs; in intervals (0.76â¯÷â¯4.5) µSv, (0.64â¯÷â¯4.4) µSv, and (0.63â¯÷â¯4.9) µSv for 40K, and in intervals (1.1â¯÷â¯18.2) µSv, (1.3â¯÷â¯21.6) µSv, (0.9â¯÷â¯38.3) µSv for 210Pb, respectively. The specific activity concentration values of 137Cs and 40K obtained for the investigated herbs are similar to the literature data, while no information was found in literature about specific activity concentration of 210Pb. The all values obtained for individual annual effective dose due to ingestion are less than 100 µSv, which means that the daily use of 200â¯mL of herbal infusion during a year made from the investigated herbs does not represent a radiological risk for health. However, a high individual annual effective dose of ingestion of 210Pb obtained for some herbs indicate that their consumption in larger amounts 2-3 cups of infusion daily over a year could make the dose to exceed the recommended level, and points to necessity for extensive investigation of 210Pb activity concentration worldwide.