Background: Breakfast cereal is a nutritious type
of food that is widely consumed by various age
groups in Kuwait. This study investigates the
presence of long-lived gamma emitters in breakfast
cereal, and estimates annual effective doses to
various age groups. Materials and Methods: Breakfast
cereal samples were collected from the Kuwaiti
local market. The samples originated from different
countries. After proper lab treatment, the samples
underwent gamma spectroscopy, where the targeted
radionuclides were 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K. Results:
While 40K was detected in all samples, 226Ra and
232Th were detected in most samples. The activity
concentration of each targeted radionuclide varied
from one sample to another. The annual effective
dose from consumption of breakfast cereal is
estimated to be 129, 185, and 351 μSv for the adult,
child, and infant age groups respectively. Conclusion:
The obtained activity concentrations are found to
agree with those reported in the literature. Moreover,
the estimated annual effective doses are found to be
safe. Iran. J. Radiat. Res., 2012 10(3‐4): 117‐122
Alrefae T, Nageswaran T, Al-Shemali T. Radioactivity of long lived gamma emitters in breakfast cereal consumed in Kuwait and estimates of annual effective doses. Int J Radiat Res 2012; 10 (3 and 4) :117-122 URL: http://ijrr.com/article-1-977-en.html