The effective radium content and radon concentrations in coffee samples

Background: Many people in Iraq and indeed the world choose to drink coffee on a daily basis; accordingly, we planned to find the radium and uranium concentrations in addition to the Radon emission rate to determine if coffee shows the levels of radioactivity that may affect people's lives. Material and Methods: A nuclear track detector (CR-39) was used to study the natural radioactivity of ten samples of coffee collected from local Iraqi markets. Results: The effective radium content varied from 0.13 to 0.66 Bq/kg with a mean 0.32 Bq/kg. The mass exhalation rates of radon vary from 0.024 - 0.121/kg.h, with a mean 0.059 Bq/kg.h, while the surface exhalation rates of radon vary from 0.47 - 2.39/m(2).h, with a mean 1.16 Bq/m(2).h. Uranium content varied from 0.10 to 0.54 ppm with a mean value of 0.26 ppm. Conclusion: Insofar as health effects are concerned, the results have shown that all the samples were entirely safe.