Concentrations of U and Po in animal feed supplements, in poultry meat and in eggs

The present study was undertaken to assess the contribution of phosphate feed supplements to the radiation exposure of the population in Israel. The phosphates usually contain appreciable quantities of U and its daughters and the actual exposure of human consumers depends, to a very large extent, on the degree of equilibrium of the decay chain in the feed and through the metabolic process. The concentrations of 238U, 234U, 226Ra and 210Po (210Pb) in poultry feed supplements and in chicken meat (breasts, thighs) and organs (livers, spleens, gizzards) as well as in eggs were determined. From the results, the transfer coefficients of U and Po in chicken meat and in eggs were calculated. The effective dose equivalent to the Israeli population due to the consumption of poultry products which accounts for approximately 70% of all meat consumed in Israel is assessed to be 0.04 mSv y-1.