Comparative study of desert truffles from kuwait and other countries in the middle east for radionuclide concentration

Concentrations of some radionuclides, including¹³⁷Cs, in desert truffles in Kuwait were studied and compared with similar samples from other countries in the Middle East, namely Iran, Egypt, and Tunisia. In addition, sand samples from Kuwait were assayed to calculate the transfer factor of the radionuclides under consideration. The measured concentrations of⁴⁰K,²²⁶Ra, and¹³⁷Cs show that¹³⁷Cs is much higher in Egyptian samples, whereas⁴⁰K is much lower in samples from Tunisia. The average effective dose equivalent calculated for the Kuwaiti population according to their diet habits was found to be in the range 0.14-0.23 ΜS_v/a. The results are compared with values from other countries.