This paper presents the first reports on the natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in soil and sediment of Jessore, a south-western district of Bangladesh. Surface soil and freshwater sediment were collected from in and around some major water-bodies of this district. To assess the radiological hazard of the natural radioactivity, the radium equivalent activity, the absorbed dose rate, and the external and internal hazard indices were calculated. In the soil and sediment in general, the activity concentration of 232 Th was found to be higher than that of 226 Th in this area were found to be higher than the world average. There was no activity due to fallout ( 137 Cs) in this area. The radium equivalent activity and the absorbed dose rate due to the natural radionuclides were found to be respectively lower and higher than the world average. The external and internal hazard indices were found to be well below the hazard limit of unity. Our results compare fairly well with other published results.
Zinc deficiency is prevalent among women and children in Bangladesh, and methods to increase the zinc content of parboiled rice could contribute to its prevention. We quantified the effect of modified parboiling conditions on zinc content and of the degree of milling on zinc and phytate contents of Bangladeshi rice varieties. Parboiling studies varied the conditions used in the local commercial operations, including pre-steaming and soaking times, change of soaking water, and steaming pressure. Milling studies used 10 Bangladeshi varieties at 0% (brown), 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10% degree of milling. With ambient soaking water, shorter soaking time was observed with a higher zinc content in brown rice, but not in 10% milled rice, and changing soaking water did not modify zinc content in brown or 10% milled rice. Pre-steaming time and open-vs. closed-system steaming had no significant effect on brown or 10% milled rice zinc content. Reducing the degree of milling from 10% to 6% or 4% resulted in a mean increase in zinc content of 27% and 47%, respectively, and an increase in phytate content of 35% and 72%, respectively. Zinc content in milled rice did not appear to be significantly affected by the parboiling conditions tested. While lower degree of milling resulted in higher zinc content, it is uncertain whether the higher phytate content would fully negate this increase by decreasing the bioavailable fraction of zinc. Human studies of zinc bioavailability from Bangladeshi rice at different degrees of milling are warranted.
Natural and fallout radioactivity concentrations in the water-hyacinth samples collected from 22 major water-bodies of the district of Jessore, Bangladesh, were measured with a low level gamma ray spectrometry system consisting of a high resolution HPGe coaxial detector. Energy and efficiency calibration of the detector have been done with the standard sources supplied by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
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