Natural Radioactivity and Radon Activity Concentrations in Canned Milk Samples in Iraq

In this study aimed to put the basis for a baseline of concentration of investigations on the occurrence of natural and anthropogenic radioisotopes in Iraq, in thirteen canned samples of powdered milk, available in Iraq's markets, Radioactivity of the principal Naturally Occurring Radionuclides in anthropic and natural environments: 238U(226Ra), 232Th and 40K, have been measured by means of gamma ray spectroscopy with a NaI(Tl) detector. Also, fifteen canned samples of the most common firms of liquid milk have been investigated for detecting the presence of Radon with an innovative measurement technique by means of alpha spectrometry of Radon short-lived progenies using the RAD7 Radon-in-air analyser. In the samples of powdered milk, the measured specific activities of 238U(226Ra), 232Th and 40K range from 0.115±0.062 to 25.000±1.067 (Bq/kg), from 0.562±0.065 to 2.930±0.807 (Bq/kg), and from 104.171±2.984 to 461.351±8.450 (Bq/kg), respectively; Also, it has been found that, for the same samples, the Radium Equivalent Activity and the Internal Hazard Index for the above radionuclides range from 08.021 to 54.753 (Bq/kg), from 0.021 to 0.210, respectively. The average Total Effective Dose associated to the exposure due to annual intake of 238U(226Ra), 232Th and 40K from ingestion of powdered milk, has been estimated to be for children 397.36 μSvy1 , 13.136 μSvy-1 and 173.271 μSvy-1, in the following age ranges (2-7y ,7-12y and 12-17y ) while for adults (over 17y) has turned out to be 35.381 μSvy-1, 3.083 μSvy-1 and 23.979 μSvy-1 , for the three different species of radionuclides, respectively. All these results for the average specific activities and the Radiation Hazard Indices of 238U(226Ra), 232Th,40K, have been compared with the reference limits recommended by UNSCEAR and found to be below those values. For the samples of liquid milk Radon activity concentrations have been measured with the new proposed technique and the resulting values vary from 59.2±5.4 to 237.3±10.9 (mBq/l) turning out to be lower than the reference limits indicated by the World Health Organization and by the regulatory bodies of European Union.