RADIONUCLIDES IN WHOLE DIETS OF PEOPLE LIVING NEAR THE SELLAFIELD NUCLEAR-COMPLEX, UK

The British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) complex (Sellafield) in Cumbr ia discharges into the atmosphere, under authorization by the Environm ent Agency (and previously, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF)), radioactive waste consisting of gases, mists and dusts. As part of MAFF's radiological surveillance programme, the intake of radionuclides via food ingestion by member; of the public living near this nuclear installation is routinely assessed from measurements made on local food and environmental samples and by using computer models simulating the dispersion and incorporation of radioactivity into food stuffs. In this study, the individual diets of adults and children liv ing near the Sellafield complex and those from a control group were as sessed for their radionuclide content. The participants were selected via a food survey questionnaire which was aimed at identifying those w ho consume home grown fruits and vegetables or derive these from local sources. The diets were collected over a one week period in August 19 95 and following radiochemical analyses of the diets for Pu239+240, Cs -137, Sr-90 C-14 and I-129, the doses received by the participants fro m these nuclides were extrapolated over a one-year period and compared to doses calculated from food surveillance data and to doses predicte d using the MAFF food-chain computer model.