210Po as a source of natural radioactivity in cigarettes distributed in the Philippines

Publication date: Available online 28 June 2019Source: Perspectives in ScienceAuthor(s): Kazuki Iwaoka, Eliza B. Enriquez, Kazuaki Yajima, Masahiro Hosoda, Shinji Tokonami, Hidenori Yonehara, Teofilo Y. Garcia, Reiko KandaAbstractThe natural radioactive nuclides especially 210Po, are volatilized at the temperature (600 – 800 °C) of a burning cigarette and are taken into the human body. Therefore, analysis of natural radioactivity of 210Po in cigarettes and the effective dose to smokers should be evaluated. The activity concentration of 210Po in sixteen brands of Philippine cigarettes was measured by alpha spectrometry, and estimation of effective dose of 210Po to smokers was performed. The activity concentration of 210Po in cigarettes distributed in the Philippines ranged from 5.5 to 17.8 mBq/cigarette and the mean value of their activity concentrations was 12.0 mBq/cigarette. The mean value of annual effective doses of 210Po to smokers obtained from these activity concentrations was 0.021 mSv/y, which was lower than the reference level (1-20 mSv/y) for existing situation in ICRP Publication 103.
Source: Perspectives in Science - Category: Science Source Type: research