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An assessment of natural and artifical radionuclide content in powdered milk consumed by infants and toddlers in Singapore

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Abstract

High-resolution gamma spectrometry was employed to evaluate radioactivity levels in powdered milk sold in Singapore. The mean activity concentrations of 228Ra, 226Ra, 40K and 137Cs in infants’ powdered milk were determined to be 0.442 Bq/kg, 0.251 Bq/kg, 197 Bq/kg and 0.080 Bq/kg respectively, while activity levels in powdered milk consumed by toddlers were 0.494 Bq/kg for 228Ra, 0.216 Bq/kg for 226Ra, 263 Bq/kg for 40K and 0.119 Bq/kg for 137Cs. Annual total effective doses and radiological risk were also estimated for both age groups. The results indicated that consumption of powdered milk poses insignificant health risk to infants and toddlers.

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Acknowledgements

This research was carried out with financial support from the Singapore Food Agency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Centre for Food Science, Singapore Food Agency, 7 International Business Park, Singapore, 609919, Singapore

    Jun Xiang Ong, Patrick Gan, Ken Kah Meng Lee, Yuansheng Wu & Joanne Sheot Harn Chan

  2. Department of Food Science & Technology, National University of Singapore, 2 Science Drive 2, Singapore, 117543, Singapore

    Joanne Sheot Harn Chan

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Ong, J.X., Gan, P., Lee, K.K.M. et al. An assessment of natural and artifical radionuclide content in powdered milk consumed by infants and toddlers in Singapore. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 333, 951–959 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-023-09331-3

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