Assessment of tritium and carbon-14 radioactivity levels in food and associated risks prior to the operation of San'ao Nuclear Power Plant

The normal operation of nuclear power plants is one of the main anthropogenic sources of tritium and carbon-14, and the health effects caused by the release of tritium and carbon-14 into the environment are of public concern. To investigate the radioactivity levels of tritium and carbon-14 in food surrounding the San'ao NPP, and establish a baseline database prior to the operation, seafood (including fish, prawn, mussel, crab and kelp), terrestrial and freshwaterfood samples were collected from areas surrounding the San'ao Nuclear Power Plant in June 2022, in Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province. The radioactivity concentrations of TFWT, OBT and C-14 in the seafood were in the ranges of < MDA-3.72, < MDA-1.05 and < MDA-166.87 Bq/kg f.w., respectively. And there was no significant difference among the three regions (P > 0.05) for radioactivity concentrations of TFWT, OBT and C-14 in seafood. The radioactivity concentrations of TFWT, OBT and C-14 in the terrestrial and freshwater food were < MDA-1.71, < MDA-0.71 and 8.33-75.36 Bq/kg f.w., respectively. The radioactivity concentrations of tritium and carbon-14 in food around San'ao NPP were at baseline levels.