What Are Your Feelings of These Minimum Limits for Testing Food?

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 2011-04-23 00:04

Just wondering what your assessments are of these minimum limits. These come from Canada.

Samples analyzed by non-destructive high resolution gamma spectroscopy

MDC = Minimum Detectable Concentration

Typical MDC is 2 Bq/Kg for a 120 g sample at time of count

CODEX Limits for Cs-134, Cs-137, Co-57 and I-131 are 1000 Bq/Kg for general consumption, 10 Bq/Kg for Am-241

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This if from the EPA for

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 2011-04-24 02:21.

This if from the EPA for milk testing, but I could not find the limit for their levels...

"The milk samples are analyzed by gamma spectrometry, looking for fission products such as iodine-131 (I-131), barium-140 (Ba-140), and cesium-137 (Cs-137), which could become present in the event of a nuclear accident. All results are measured in picocuries per liter (pCi/L). A picocurie is one trillionth of a curie."

Does anyone know the USA "Mimimum Detectable Concentrations" (MDC) for milk?

How do they compare with Canada's MDC for Milk of 2 Bq/KG for a 120 gram sample and a limit of 1000 Bq/Kg for general consumption?

So far Canada has only tested 14 samples on two different days in British Columbia, but they do not state if these samples are from indoor or outdoor cattle, nor do they state if these samples were taken from different areas of BC or the same farm.

Anyone have thoughts on this? Here is the link...

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/imp/domeste.shtml

Screening of Food Samples for Compliance with Action Levels

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 2011-04-24 02:49.

Example 1:

A sample of fresh milk measured a short time after an emergency contains 150 Bq kg-1 of 137Cs and 40 Bq kg-1 of 131I. From Table 1.1, the action levels for the two radionuclides in the Fresh Liquid Milk group are:

AL milk, Cs-137 = 300 Bq kg-1

AL milk, I-131 = 100 Bq kg-1

Applying the summation criterion:
The milk can therefore be permitted unrestricted distribution in the commercial food supply.

Comments?

Link:

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/contaminants/emergency-urgence/acti...

PDF for Canadian Guidelines for the Restriction of Radioactively Contaminated Food and Water Following a Nuclear Emergency:

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/alt_formats/hecs-sesc/pdf/pubs/contamina...