Activity levels of gamma-emitters in Argentinean cow milk

With the aim of contributing to the establishment of baselines for natural and man-made radioisotopes, the concentration of gamma-emitter radionuclides was determined in a set of commercial and dairy farm liquid cow milk produced in the most important production regions of Argentina using a gamma-ray spectrometer with a high-resolution HPGe detector. For comparison, samples from Chile and Uruguay were also analyzed. The main detected activity corresponded to 40K, while the activities of elements of the natural chains were below the detection limit. The determined 40K average activity for the Argentinean milk was 60 Bq/L. Traces of the anthropogenic radionuclide 137Cs were observed only in the Chilean milk sample.