Radionuclide content in laundry detergents commercially available on the Serbian market and assessment of radiological environmental hazards

Abstract

Laundry detergents are chemicals widely used in everyday life, and in numerous industry branches. In order to perceive the radiological aspect of environmental pollution by wastewater, the analysis of laundry detergents available on the Serbian market was undertaken. Laundry detergent samples were measured by means of gamma spectrometry and the results are presented in this paper. Analysis of the obtained activity concentrations showed that laundry detergents in Serbia mostly fulfill the international recommendation and requirements regarding the phosphate content. Besides that, the content of the detected radionuclides in laundry detergent samples indicates the minor radiological risk to the environment via wastewaters. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 171018]

Keywords

• laundry detergent
• gamma spectrometry
• external radiation hazard index
• radium equivalent activity