Cost-benefit analysis approach to risk assessment of natural radioactivity in powdered and liquid milk products consumed in Nigeria. Issue 3 (2nd July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Agbalagba, Ezekiel O.; Agbalagba, Hannah O.; Avwiri, Gregory O.
• Is Part Of: Environmental forensics. Volume 17:Issue 3(2016)
• Page Start: 191
• Page End: 202
• Publication Date: 2016-07-02
• Subjects: Gamma spectroscopy -- milk samples -- natural radioactivity -- cost-benefit analysis; Environmental forensics -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Measurement -- Periodicals; Environmental law -- Periodicals; Enquêtes environnementales -- Périodiques; 363.25945
• DOI: 10.1080/15275922.2016.1177753
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1527-5922

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article presents important facts on food safety in milk consumed in Nigeria that are in agreement with NAFDAC plan regarding the safety of food in Nigeria. The radioactivity con-centrations in powdered and liquid milk consumed in Nigeria were investigated using a sodium iodide (NaI(Tl)) detector. The activity concentrations of the three naturally occurring radionuclides, 226 Ra, 232 Th, and 40 K, were measured in 10 brands of powdered milk and 11 brands of liquid milk. The results show that the mean activity concentration of 40 K in the powder and liquid samples was 468.0 ± 72.7 Bq kg −1 and 317.6 ± 58.5 Bq kg −1, respectively. The mean values for 226 Ra for powdered and liquid milk were 19.2 ± 7.2 Bq kg −1 and 16.6 ± 6.3 Bq kg −1, respectively, while for 232 Th it is 12.1 ± 4.8 Bq kg −1 and 10.6 ± 4.3 Bq kg −1, respectively. The average value of 40 K in the powdered milk was found to be slightly above the standard value set by UNSCEAR for foodstuffs. The values of the calculated hazard indices and the radium equivalent of all milk samples were within the permissible limit set by UNSCEAR and other international regulatory bodies. However, the consumption of powdered and liquid milk by infants and children at the rate of 14 to 15 kg/year, from this analysis may result in radiation doses to vital organs above standard values. It is recommended that the amount of powdered milk consumed per year by infants and children should not exceed 7 and 11 kg/year while for liquid milk it should not exceed 8 and 13 kg/year, respectively. The cost-benefit analysis shows a low collective effective dose equivalent with a mean radiological index ratio of 1:30, 839 for infants, 1:50, 909 for children, and 1:247, 145 for adults. The computed values of the total cost of the health detriment of consuming these examined milk products revealed that the child age group has the highest cost health detriment per capita dose, with an estimated total cost of health detriment of US$17.256 million, followed by adults, with an estimated cost implication of US$11.864 million; infants have the least, with an estimated cost implication of US$10.192 million. The overall results show that the powdered and liquid milk consumed in Nigeria are radiologically safe and may not cause any immediate radiation health hazard to consumers of the examined milk brands, while optimizing radiation protection using cost-benefit analysis is recommended.