Radiation Risk Among Children due to Natural Radioactivity in Breakfast Cereals

Breakfast cereal is one of the common foods for children’s nutrition. It is made from sugar, barley, calcium carbonate, salt, maize, peanuts, molasses, and honey. Therefore, assessing the levels of radioactivity in breakfast cereal is essential for children’s health. Gamma-ray spectrometry NaI(Tl) was used to measure the radiation hazard in ten samples collected from the Iraqi market. The corresponding radiation dose quantities and hazard indices were also calculated. The average concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K were found to be 18.195, 20.965, and 796.500 (Bq.kg-1). The annual effective dose equivalent (AEDEin), annual ingestion dose (AID), and the risk of cancer incidence (ELCR) were all seen to be within the accepted levels, except the annual gonadal equivalent dose (AGED). Radiation hazard index values (i.e., Iγ, Iα, and Hin) were noticed to be lower than unity, except Iγ was much higher than the internationally permissible limits for the samples of BGF5, BGF6, and BGF7 recommended by UNSCER2000. Therefore, the study findings reveal that this type of cereal can be considered a safe feeding material for children’s health.