Regulation and control of radionuclide contents in foods in the Russian federation

Abstract

To restrict radiation exposure to the population of Russia due to radionuclide ingestion via foods produced from agricultural raw material cultivated in Russia or imported from other states, Permissible Levels (PL) of 90 Sr and 137 Cs specific activities have been developed. The regulations comply with requirements of national Radiation Safety Standards (NRB-99), international recommendations for limitation of the public exposure under conditions of long-term radiation exposure and take into account the special features of food contamination generation in Russia. PL have been developed under condition of non-exceeding of 1 mSv annual internal dose to the public due to food intake. The levels developed for more than 140 kinds of foods have been included into the regulative document "Hygienic requirements of safety and food significance of foodstuffs" (SanPiN 2.3.2.1078-01) and are obligatory in Russia for national and imported foods.

Harmonisation of standards for permissible radionuclide activity concentrations in foodstuffs in the long term after the Chernobyl accident

“…The RPL-99 for 90 Sr is set to be the same for most FPs, except for baby food, where the standard is half that. In Russia, PL values in particular foodstuffs are chosen in proportion to the current national average intake of residents, respectively, of 137 Cs and 90 Sr, with the considered foodstuffs [15,17]. The intake was Table 2.…”

“…Another approach, implemented in Russia [15,17] and Ukraine [16], is aimed at minimising the rejection of radionuclides entering the body via food. To this end, PL i were assessed by a formula similar to (2) with the addition of a weighting factor m i (>17) (see above), i.e.…”

“…a Unlike the documents of Belarus and Ukraine regulating post-Chernobyl contamination of FPs with radionuclides, Russian SanPiN 2.3.2.1078-01[15,17] limits the content of 137 Cs and 90 Sr in FPs regardless of their origin. b Russian standards for 137 Cs and 90 Sr in drinking water are taken from[18].…”