Assessment of Activity Concentrations and Their Associated Radiological Health Risks in Commercial Infant Formulas in Thailand

This work assessed the activity concentrations of Ra-226, Th-232, K-40, and Cs-137, their corresponding annual effective doses, and their radiological health risks associated with the consumption of infant formulas in Thailand. The results showed that the average (+/- standard deviation) activity concentrations of Ra-226, Th-232, K-40, and Cs-137 radionuclides were 3.20+0.51 Bq kg(-1), 1.24 +/- 0.10 Bq kg(-1), 213.20 +/- 25.50 Bq kg(-1), and 4.90 +/- 0.74 Bq kg(-1), respectively, leading to an average annual effective dose for infants aged <= 1 year and 1-2 years of 762.82 +/- 91.34 mu Sv year(-1) and 189.60 +/- 22.47 mu Sv year(-1), respectively, and radiological health risks of (5.63 +/- 0.66) x 10(-6) and (3.77 +/- 0.44) x 10(-6), respectively. The overall results suggested that infant formulas in Thailand posed no significant effective dose and radiological health risks, implying safe consumption for infants.