Radiochemistry: Analytical Track 1: Food Defense

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SUMMARY: RADIOCHEMISTRY ANALYTICAL TRACK 1 (FOOD DEFENSE) Radioactive contamination of food can occur through rare natural phenomina, industrial accidents, or intentional tampering. The core tenet of this large and multifaceted proposal is to contribute a comprehensive and integrated food protection laboratory hub to the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) that is capable of analyzing many different foods across a diversity of threat priorities. The capability to detect and identify a wide range of radionuclides in foods is central to our goal of ensuring a safe food supply. The Radiation section of MDH Laboratories Administration has been part of FERN for ~15 years, and currently serves as one of five national Radiochemistry CAP laboratories. The Radiation section now seeks to be incorporated into the current multi-faceted cooperative agreement. This integration will maintain, strengthen, and unify our involvement in FERN. Specifically, through this analytical track, the laboratory seeks to continue assessing the presence or absence of radioactive contamination and identifying the radionuclides present in human or animal food samples through screening. Currently the laboratory has the capability to detect gamma emitters (e.g. Cs-134, Cs-137, I-131, Co-60, Be-7), alpha emitters (e.g. Am-241, Pu-238/239, Po-210, Uranium), as well as beta emitters (e.g. Sr-89/90) in food matrices using alpha spectrometry, liquid scintillation counting, gas proportional counting, and inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry technologies. The data generated will be reported to FERN to characterize the extent of food contamination, to follow emerging trends, and to calculate intakes.