90Sr, 238U, 234U, 137Cs, 40K and 239/240Pu in Emmental type cheese produced in different regions of Western Europe

A method is presented for the determination of 90Sr and uranium in Emmental type cheese collected in dairy plants from different European countries. Results display a significant correlation (r=0.708, Student t-test=6.02) between the 90Sr content of the cheese and the altitude of grazing. The highest 90Sr activity is 1.13 Bq kg−1 of cheese and the lowest is 0.29 Bq kg−1. Uranium activity is very low with a highest 238U value of 27 mBq kg−1. In addition, 234U/238U ratio shows a large enrichment in 234U for every location. Without any significant indication of the geographic origin of the cheese, this enrichment is believed to be due to the geological features of the pasture, soil and underground water. These results tend to prove that the contamination of milk by uranium originates principally from the water that the cows drink instead of the forage. This finding may have a great importance in models dealing with dairy food contamination by radionuclides following a nuclear accident. Also, the 90Sr content and to a lesser extent the 234U/238U ratio could be used to trace the authenticity of the origin of the cheese. 137Cs activity is lower than the detection limit of 0.1 Bq kg−1 in all the samples collected (n=20). Based on natural 40K activity in cheese (15–21 Bq kg−1), the decontamination factor for the alkaline cations from milk to cheese is about 20. Plutonium activity stays below the detection limit of 0.3 mBq kg−1.