Assessment of natural radionuclides in powder milk imported to Erbil Governorate, Kurdistan Region-Iraq

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In this study, the activity concentrations of ⁴⁰K, ²³²Th, and ²²⁶Ra radionuclides were estimated in imported milk powder samples from 40 brands available in local markets in Erbil Governorate, Iraq. The measurements were performed using High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector. The results indicated that the average activity concentrations of ⁴⁰K, ²³²Th, and ²²⁶Ra were 241, 0.476, and 1.23 Bq kg⁻¹, respectively, and comparisons were made based on the typical consumption characteristics of powdered milk by Kurdistan residents. In all investigated age groups (2-17 years), the average annual effective doses were below the ICRP-recommended limit of 1 mSv y⁻¹ for public exposure. Radiological hazard parameters were determined based on the measured radioactivity concentrations. The relation between all the determined activities of natural radionuclides and radiological parameters was examined using multivariate statistical analysis techniques such as histograms, descriptive statistics, and Pearson correlation analyses. The cancer risk in all samples was lower than the allowable value of (2.5 × 10⁻³), while the ingestion dose in two samples was higher than the worldwide acceptable value of (0.29) mSv y⁻¹.