Página 520 - irpa

520 ST 6.3 – Protección radiológica del público y el ambiente
DATABASE OF VALUES OF RADIOACTIVITY IN TYPICAL
LATIN AMERICAN FOOD
M. Ferreira, Ana Cristina1; González, Sergio1 ; Iglicki, Flora A.2;
Piñones, Osvaldo H.3; Osores, José M. 4; Fernández Gómez, Isis M.5 *;
Ruiz Esparza, Ligia J.6; Doncel Invernizzi, Fredy A.7;
Odino Moure, Rosario8
1 Radioprotection and Dosimetry Institute (IRD); National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN).
Brasil.
2 Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (CNEA). Argentina.
3 Comisión Chilena de Energía Nuclear (CCHEN). Chile.
4 Instituto Peruano de Energía Nuclear. Perú.
5 Centro de Protección e Higiene de las Radiaciones (CPHR). Cuba.
6 Comisión Nacional de Seguridad Nuclear y Salvaguardias (CNSNS). México.
7 Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Paraguay.
8 Departamento de Tecnogestión; Ministerio de Industria, Energía y Minería (MIEM). Uruguay.
* Responsible author, email: isis@cphr.edu.cu
Radionuclides are being incorporated into the environment by way of dispersion, dilution and
transport over short and long distances, and can also concentrate on certain specific materials,
such as food, grasses and others. The route of radionuclides in the environment can be
observed at all levels of the ecological pyramid, irrespective of their natural or artificial origin.
Radioactive contamination persists for years and it might produce crops with increased
radioactivity. Animals fed with pastures contaminated with radionuclides transfer these
contaminants to humans after digestion. For all these reasons, it is of utmost importance to
reliably characterize the presence of radionuclides of both natural and artificial origin in typical
American foods and incorporate them into a regional data bank. The characterization of
radioactive background values for domestically produced food can also bring added value to all
countries engaged in the export of food, because radiological food certification for export is a
requirement that virtually all countries have adopted after 1986 in the wake of the Chernobyl
accident. Benchmarks to demonstrate the levels of existing activity concentration in food are an
important fact when signing contracts for exporting food on the international market. The
creation of a database with information generated by the region itself constitutes an important
outcome for the region. By means of using the experience of some countries in the area and
free software as a suitable tool for networking, the application may be used by large groups of
institutions, private or public, without the need to allocate resources that are significant for
achieving the traced objectives. This project will set up a geo-referenced database on
radioactivity measures in typical Latin American food, using the benefits of free platforms. The
system was developed in Portuguese, Spanish and English than in future others countries can
do participate too (http://siglara.ird.gov.br).