Internal doses of French adult population linked to the intake of radionuclides from the decay-chains of uranium and thorium by foodstuffs ingestion

This study provides the first dose assessment to the French adult population due to the intake of radionuclides from the decay chains of uranium and thorium by foodstuff ingestion (water consumption excepted). This dose varies widely with the consumption of seafood, from less than 200 μ Sv.y -1 for people who do not consume shellfish or crustaceans at all, to more than 2,000 μ Sv.y -1 for the biggest consumers (about 150 kg.y -1 according to specific dietary surveys carried out along the French seaside). For moderate consumers of seafood (around 4.6 kg.y -1 ), who probably represent a major part of the population, this internal dose would be around 330 μ Sv.y -1 . This variable consumption of seafood overshadows all the other causes of variability of these internal dose estimates.