Radioactivity in milk consumed in Nigeria 10 years after Chernobyl reactor accident

The average concentrations of the radioactivity in milk imported into and consumed in Nigeria, 10 years after Chernobyl-4 nuclear power plant accident, have been measured by means of a well-calibrated high-purity germanium detector. The photopeaks observed with reliable regularity belong to the naturally occurring series-decay radionuclides headed by 238U and 232Th, as well as the non-series decay type, 40K. Ten years after the nuclear accident, 137Cs was not detected in any of the milk samples in view of the possible transfer through the soil–grass–cow–milk route, the time interval being one third the 137Cs half-life (30.2 yr). The average total specific activity values of 23.07±7.75, 4.35±2.06 and 831.66±54.83 Bq kg−1 for 226Ra, 228Ra and 40K, respectively, were obtained.