Caesium contamination in human milk and transfer factor from diet

Abstract

A study on caesium contamination in human milk, as a consequences of the Chernobyl fallout, was conducted in 1989 on a group of women from one of the areas of northern Italy most heavily affected by the radioactive fallout. Their diet was studied, and the caesium intake was calculated by using the mean food activity concentration in that area. The caesium transfer factor was evaluated both as the ratio of caesium concentration in mother's milk to the daily intake, and by using a simplified milk compartment model.