Chernobyl radioactivity in Turkish tea and its possible health consequences

The dose estimates from the tea consumption was done following a different approach than previous studies. Instead of using the radioactivity data obtained by measuring only limited number of contaminated tea samples in our laboratories, the data reported by the Turkish Atomic Energy Agency Authority covering all the tea product of 1986 were used for dose estimates. In addition the collective effective dose equivalent in Turkey was estimated. Although in this study contamination only in one product, namely tea, was discussed, it turned out to be important as it was consumed by large populations in Turkey so contributed to the doses significantly. Precautions to be taken were summarized, one simple precaution 'rinsing of tea before brewing' was sufficient to remove half of the contamination from tea without any drawbacks. (author). 19 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs