Radiological hazards in Finnish cereals: Comparison of man-made and natural sources
2013
Turtiainen, T. | Kostiainen, E.
A survey on man-made (<sup>137</sup>Cs and <sup>90</sup>Sr) and natural radionuclides (<sup>238</sup>U, <sup>232</sup>Th, <sup>228</sup>Ra, <sup>226</sup>Ra) in cereal crops was conducted by collecting 66 cereal samples at 36 flour mills. This was the first time that natural radionuclides were included in such a survey in Finland. Based on the results new domestic reference concentrations for cereals were suggested: 2 mBq·kg<sup>−1</sup> for <sup>238</sup>U and <sup>232</sup>Th, 100 mBq·kg<sup>−1</sup> for <sup>228</sup>Ra and 200 mBq·kg<sup>−1</sup> for <sup>226</sup>Ra. The mean committed effective dose from ingestion of all radionuclides in cereal products was assessed as 30 μSv per year. Currently, the man-made radionuclides contribute only one percent to the total dose whereas in 1963 their proportion was about half and in 1987 about 20%, one year after the Chernobyl accident. Even so, the doses are very small and pose insignificant health risk to the consumers.
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