Abstract
This study evaluated the chemical and radiological safety of animal-derived food products from the Abai region of Kazakhstan adjacent to the former Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site. A total of 450 samples of beef, horse meat, mutton, poultry meat, and whole cow’s milk were collected from the Abai, Ayagoz, and Aksuat districts, which differ in their degree of potential technogenic and residual radiological impact. Lead, cadmium, copper, and zinc concentrations were determined by anodic stripping voltammetry, while 137 Cs and 90 Sr activities were measured by gamma spectrometry and radiochemical beta counting. Non-carcinogenic risk was assessed using the Target Hazard Quotient and Hazard Index, and radiological risk was evaluated using the Annual Effective Dose and Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk. Significant inter-district differences were observed, with the highest contaminant burdens generally detected in the Abai district and the lowest in the Aksuat district. Lead concentrations in whole cow’s milk exceeded the applicable regulatory limit in all three districts, representing the most important food-safety finding of the study, whereas most other analytes remained within permissible levels. Despite these local exceedances, all calculated non-carcinogenic and radiological risk indicators remained below internationally accepted threshold values for adults under the assumed consumption scenario. These findings indicate a low overall health risk from consumption of the investigated products, while supporting the need for territorially differentiated and product-specific veterinary-sanitary monitoring in historically affected regions within a One Health framework.