Radioactivity Content of Dairy Derivatives in Italy and Radiological Health Risk Evaluation

The natural (40K) and anthropogenic (137Cs) radioactivity content in thirty dairy products samples of six different typologies (cow ricotta cheese, sheep ricotta cheese, whole white yogurt, butter, sheep cheese, cow mozzarella cheese), coming from Italian large retailers, was investigated by High Purity Germanium (HPGe) gamma spectrometry to assess the background levels of detected radionuclides, as well as to evaluate the dose levels due to their ingestion and any possible anthropic contamination. A comparison with the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommended limit of 1 mSv y−1 and with the total natural radioactivity value for human beings, in terms of effective dose (2.4 mSv y-1), was also carried out to assess any possible radiological health risk for human beings.