Abstract
Wild mushrooms are considered as bioindicators of environmental pollution. Different species of mushrooms (edible and medicinal), commonly available in Chattogram hill tracts (CHT) area of Bangladesh, were analyzed for prevailing concentrations of heavy metals and radioactive materials via atomic absorption spectroscopy and gamma-ray spectrometry, respectively. The metal contents in some species show higher than the levels recommended by WHO/FAO for metals in food and vegetables. In case of terrestrial radionuclides, the concentrations of Th-232 and K-40 exceeded the global average value of 82 Bq/kg and 310 Bq/kg, respectively (UNSCEAR, 2000). Since the studied mushroom grew naturally, the obtained results provide useful information on the presence of radioactive-, toxic- and essential elements in the CHT area which may require for any further study of other environmental matrices in this area.