THYROID RADIATION DOSES FROM FALLOUT

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Abstract
It is generally assumed that the absorbed doses of radiation from fallout, when averaged over yearly periods and for large populations, are well below the corresponding doses from background radiation. This assumption is not likely to be valid for the thyroid glands of infants and children; in part because radioiodine tends to concentrate in fresh cow''s milk[long dash]a major item in the diet of the young. Analysis of published data on radioiodine activity levels in milk during a 16-month period ending September, 1958, reveals an annual dose of about 0.1 rad to 02 rad, chiefly from the beta-rays of radioiodine in fallout to the thyroid, an amount approximately equal to or double the annual dose received from natural background radiations.