Radiological Surveillance of Total Diets in Selected Locations in the United States

Sources of data and methods used to survey food consumption are described. Reliable estimates of food consumption are used as a basis for monitoring programs and also for calculatlng the content of nuclides in total diet. It is pointed out that the composition of the total diet also partly determines the effective ingested dose of radiation to the body. The planning of a total-diet radiological surveillance program in eight selected cities in the U.S. is discussed in terms of the essential criteria used in investigating diet levels of radioactivity for boarding school children. The influence of such factors as age, geographic dietary patterns, soclo-economic status, and seasonal variations is discussed not only in terms of food intakes but the resultant levels of radionuclides ingested in foods and total diet. The major indicator foods, contributing the significant levels of Sr/sup 90/ to a total diet in the U.S., are, on a calculated basis, milk products, cereal products, leafy green vegetables, fruits, and root vegetables. (P.C.H.)