General Information
Amounts Required
For either food or environmental samples, a minimum mass of 250 g of material is required.
Reporting
A report will be issued normally within one week, depending on the current workload. Where the result of a measurement exceeds 2 Bq/kg, or does so after uncertainties have been taken into account, the result will be reported together with an estimated uncertainty.
Information for Food Samples
Radioactive Material in Australian Foodstuffs
Very low levels of caesium-137 are observed in foodstuffs from time to time and arise from the trace quantities in Australian soils from global fallout up to 1974.
Like all countries in the southern hemisphere, Australia has experienced fallout from atmospheric nuclear weapons tests conducted by several nations. However, the fallout in Australia has generally been much lower compared to northern hemisphere countries. Monitoring since the Chornobyl accident has shown no increase in fallout deposits.
Reporting Limit
In most cases, the reporting limit for analysing caesium-137 and caesium-134 in food samples will be 2 Bq/kg. This value is much lower than any known regulatory limit and is far below the levels of natural radioactivity found in many foodstuffs.
Common Food Analysis Suite:
- Caesium-134
- Caesium-137
- Ruthenium-103
- Iodine-131
Food Certificates
If requested, food certificates for export purposes can be issued. Information required on the certificate must be provided by the client.
Information for Environmental Samples
Commonly-requested radionuclides in environmental samples include:
- Radium-226
- Radium-228
- Thorium-228
- Thorium-234
- Potassium-40
- Lead-210
RAS can measure a wide-range of gamma-emitting radionuclides. Please indicate on the Client Request Form if you have specific requests.
