Performance Evaluation of Rapid Seafood Radioactivity Inspection Systems

Due to rising concerns about ocean contamination after the Fukushima accident, ensuring rapid and accurate detection of radioactive substances in seafood has become increasingly important. In this study, we evaluated the performance of two Rapid Seafood Radioactivity Inspection Systems (RS-RISs), which were developed to assess compliance with safety criteria for radioactive materials in seafood. RS-RIS-P and RS-RIS-N systems are constructed using PVT and NaI(Tl) scintillators, respectively. We evaluated 4 key performance metrics: false-positivity rate, mass measurement accuracy, radioactivity concentration accuracy, and minimum detectable activity (MDA). The experimental results showed that both RS-RISs met all of the defined criteria. The optimized calculation algorithms improved radioactivity concentration accuracy by up to 100% and 74% for the RS-RIS-P and RS-RIS-N systems, respectively. The reliability of the simulation models used in the tests was also verified, with the differences below 4% between the experimental and simulated results for 137Cs. All of the results indicate that both RS-RISs can rapidly and reliably detect low levels of radioactive nuclides in seafood, thereby providing critical safety information and supporting public health.