Detection and measurement of radioactive substances in water and food: a narrative review

Contamination of food and water with radioactive substances is a serious health problem. There are several methods to detect and measure radioactive materials, some of which have been developed in recent years. This paper aims to discuss the methods of detecting and measuring radioactive substances in food and water. The principles and the advantages and disadvantages of each method have been discussed. The results showed that some of these methods, such as spectrometry γ-ray high purity germanium, portable radon gas surveyor SILENA, RAD7, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, have a higher sensitivity for detection and measurement. Also, the spectrometry γ-ray high purity germanium method has attracted more attention than other methods because it can measure a wide range of radionuclides with high resolution.