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Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Quantification of Heavy Metals and Other Inorganic Contaminants on the Productivity of Microalgae
Published on: July 10, 2015
Radioactivity concentration levels and potential radiotoxicity risk assessment of aquatic superfoods case study of
Akbar Abbasi1, Shams A M Issa2, Fatemeh Mirekhtiary3
1Faculty of Art and Science, University of Kyrenia, Kyrenia, TRNC, via Mersin 10, Turkey.
Abstract:
It has been found that algae have a variety of health benefits, although investigations showed that they contain radiotoxic elements, including 226Ra, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs, which may affect human health. This study is connected to activity concentration measurements of the above radionuclides in the algae supplements available in the Middle East markets. The annual effective radiation doses of measured radionuclides in analyzed algal supplements have been calculated. The highest values of annual effective doses have been estimated for 226Ra in Ecklonia (13.39 μSv/y) and for 232Th in Red Marine Algae (11.80 μSv/y), both from South Korea. In algal "superfoods", the effective dose of 137Cs is not significantly affected by the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the activity levels of radionuclides are low, the naturally occurring radionuclides provide the most effective doses, and algae supplements can be considered safe.
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