Monitoring of Sr-90 and Cs-137 in milk in Finland

Monitoring of Sr-90 and Cs-137 in milk in Finland

 

AbstractMonitoring of 137Cs and 90Sr in Finnish milk was started in 1960 by taking samples from three dried milk factories. In 1963 sampling was extended by one dried milk factory and one dairy, in 1966 three more dried milk factories and in the beginning of the 1980s three dairies were added to the monitoring program. The number of dairies was extended in May 1986, first to 8 and gradually to 13. Monitoring of dried milk was continued up to the beginning of the 1990's. In the 1990's milk from between 10 and 13 dairies was analysed. Since 1999 the number of dairies has decreased gradually to five. Samples have been taken and analysed monthly for 137Cs and 90Sr. In the 2000's 90Sr was determined in quarterly pooled samples. The sampling has covered the main production areas of milk in Finland, and the choice of sampling sites has been made by taking into account the variation in soil and deposition in different parts of the country. The concentration of 137Cs in dairy milk was highest in summer 1986 varying between 3 Bq l-1 and 81 Bq l-1, whereas the highest 90Sr concentrations (2 Bq l-1) were detected in 1963 and 1964. In the 2000's, the concentrations of 137Cs were less than or equal to 1 Bq l-1 and those of 90Sr were less than 0.05 Bq l-1.
STAR partnerSTUK
Type of dataMonitoring
Sample number>1000
QualityData in this study has been collected since 1960. Since 1999, radioactivity determinations have been carried out using an accredited method with regular quality control through intercomparisons, calibrations and blank samples. Prior to 1999, in-house quality evaluation took place with similar quality assessments.
Spatially referencedNo
Ecosystem typeTerrestrial
Sample typeMilk
Date1960 - ongoing
LanguagesFinnish
StatusOn-going programme
Obtain dataData are provided on request without restriction. Contact: star.stuk@stuk.fi
Key reference sources 
Data ownershipSTUK
Database formatExcel
Figure informationActivity concentrations for 137Cs in milk for Finland from 1960 onwards (STUK)
Keywords

finland , milk , nuclear_weapons_fallout , chernobyl , infoex

 

Prepared by STAR NoE