Lifetime cancer risk increase due to consumption of some foods from a High Background Radiation Area

Highlights: • The AC for Th-232 are much higher when compared to the values reported in the literature. • It is notably higher the AC for U_nat, 10⁴ times higher for the potato sample. • An increase of up to 10⁴ in the cancer risk for U_nat could be observed. Activity concentration (AC) in foods produced and commonly consumed in a High Background Radiation Area (HBRA) was analyzed. The AC were obtained by spectrophotometry and by the radiochemical separation method. The AC were up to 10⁴ times higher than the AC for both UNSCEAR suggested values and non-HBRA. It was noted that the lifetime cancer risk was increased in 4 decimal places, taking the risk from the "statistically negligible range" (−6) to "middle range" (between 10⁻⁴ and 10⁻⁶).