Assessment of Carbon-14 in wheat samples grown-up in the vicinity of NPP site Narora

¹⁴C (T_1/2=5730 y) is a pure beta emitter (with E_max = 156 keV), occurs naturally due to its cosmogenic origin and is also produced in nuclear reactors due to neutron activation of ¹⁴N, ¹⁵N, ¹⁷O, ¹⁶O and ¹³C. The released ¹⁴C in the form of ¹⁴CO₂ is quickly assimilated by plants through photosynthesis. In order to estimate the impact, if any, on the environment around NAPS site due to release of ¹⁴C, wheat samples were collected up to 30km radial distance from the plant site during the harvest season from the field. Since wheat is major crop being consumed locally in north India. In this study 30 wheat samples were collected covering up to a 30 km radial distance around NAPS site and 5 nos of wheat collected from clean area i.e. around under construction NPP site at GHAVP, Haryana during year 2020-21. This study has been carried out to establish the analytical methodology for estimation of ¹⁴C specific activity wheat samples. The change in ¹⁴C levels at nearby areas is observed to be insignificant compared to natural levels