THE USE OF ELECTRON-SPIN-RESONANCE SPECTROSCOPY FOR THE DETECTION OF IRRADIATED MACKEREL

Free radicals produced in Spanish mackerel fish bone by Co-60 gamma-ra ys were measured using electron spin resonance spectroscopy. The ESR s pectra of the irradiated fish were found to have an asymmetric absorpt ion characterized by a major resonance at g(1) = 2.0020 and a minor re sonance at g(2) = 1.9980. The intensity of the radiation-induced ESR s ignal was found to increase with the absorbed dose. The results obtain ed after irradiation in the dose range 0.5-5.7 kGy gave a nonlinear re lationship between the radiation dose and ESR signal height. The radia tion-induced ESR signal of Spanish mackerel decayed most significantly in the first 15 days after irradiation, but could still be detected e ven after 60 days. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd