137Cs urinary excretion by northwestern Italians ten years after the Chernobyl accident

Measurements of 137Cs contamination in the urine of 37 individuals were performed in 1995 and 1996 in order to evaluate the 137Cs daily urinary excretion in the northwestern italian people ten years from the Chernobyl accident. The difference between the average 137Cs daily urinary excretion assessed for 1995 and for 1996 was not statistically significant. Using the values of urine contamination, an estimate of 0.2 Bq(-1) of mean ingested activity was obtained. A mean committed effective dose of about 1 microSv was determined as due to the 137Cs ingestion during 1 y at 10 y after the accident. Such a dose is lower by a factor of 10(3) than the corresponding value for the population of North Italy in the first year following the Chernobyl accident.