Most people shiver in fear when they hear the word radioactive. The fear of exposure, the long-term effects, the threat of a nuclear disaster, all comes to mind. To make matters worse, a new study found that avocados and bananas are both technically radioactive. But before you think eating guacamole or a smoothie will turn you into The Hulk, you should know it’s a minimal threat.
New research found that we interact with radioactivity daily, but at levels that are so minimal they likely won’t harm us. The North Carolina State University researchers said they wanted to complete the study to inform people and create a frame of reference for exposure to radiation and nuclear safety.

The radiation, measured in microgray per hour (μGy/hr), was tested using a portable gamma radiation meter and tested various fruits, vegetables, bricks and a few other items.
Avocados, for example, gave off 0.16 μGy/hr of gamma radiation – slightly less than the 0.17 μGy/hr emitted by a banana. Bricks gave off 0.15 μGy/hr, while smoke detectors (with their americium components) gave off 0.16. By way of comparison, natural uranium ore measured 1.57 μGy/hr.
By comparison, the regulatory level for workers – which is safe – is exposure to 50,000 μGy per year.
No matter where you are though, you’re likely to be exposed to low levels of radiation. In fact, our bodies give off a minimal amount too. Annually, we each receive a 40-millirem dose of radiation from our own bodies. That’s the same amount of radiation you’d be exposed to from having four chest X-rays. Your radiation dose level can go up by one or two millirem for every eight hours you spend sleeping next to a similarly radioactive person.
For reference, a rem is classified as a “large dose” of radiation, so a millirem is one one-thousandth of that. Just eating a banana or going to the dentist can increase your radiation dose level by a few millirem. Smoking cigarettes can increase it up to 16,000 millirem.

While the amounts are minimal – and seemingly harmless – this new research certainly has me looking at the produce section at the grocery store a little differently. How about you?
Sources:
http://phys.org/news/2016-10-dont-panic-avocado-radioactivestudy-eyes.html
https://news.ncsu.edu/2016/10/radioactive-avocado-2016/
http://journals.lww.com/health-physics/Abstract/2016/11003/Contributions_of_Various_Radiological_Sources_to.5.aspx
http://www.businessinsider.com/avocados-bananas-radioactive-food-2016-10
http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/the-particle-physics-of-you
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