Monitoring and surveillance of radio-cesium in cultivated soils and foodstuff samples in Israel 18 years after the Chernobyl disaster

摘要

The concentration of radio-cesium and radio-beryllium in foodstuff and soils samples was measured together with natural radioactivity (K-40 and Th, U chains) in Marinelli (reentrant) beakers using gamma-ray spectrometry. Radio-cesium in foodstuff and soils samples varies from 0.1 to 0.5 and from 1.5 to 20 Bq kg(-1), respectively. The limit of detection for determination of radio-cesium was found to be 0.04 Bq (i.e. 1.1 pCi). The concentration of radio-cesium measured in dry milk powders, concentrated from composite raw, whole milk samples varies from 0.05 to 0.08 Bq kg(-1). The level of radiation of Cs-137 measured in foodstuff samples presents no potential health hazard to the public today in any conceivable way as they are much smaller than the natural contribution. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.