The activities of 210Po and 210Pb in cigarette smoked in Tunisia

Determination of activities of 210Pb in Slovak tobacco and cigarettes: a study on radiological risks

This study investigates the 210Pb activity concentrations in tobacco and cigarettes available in Slovakia, utilizing two specific extraction methods including the Sr Resin sorbent used in extraction chromatography, and the AnaLig Sr01 sorbent, which operates based on molecular recognition principles. The findings revealed significant variations in 210Pb activity concentrations, with concentrations ranging from 13.3 to 33.8 mBq/g in tobacco, and from 16.8 to 28.5 mBq/g in cigarettes. The average 210Pb activity per cigarette was 14.4 mBq ± 1.7 mBq. Annual effective doses for smokers were calculated, with values for tobacco ranging from 27.9 to 126.7 µSv and for cigarettes from 25.5 to 115.7 µSv. The study highlights the importance of comparing these two methods to ensure an accurate assessment of 210Pb exposure and evaluation of radiological risks associated with smoking in Slovakia.

210Po and 210Pb radioactivity levels in local and imported tobacco used in Palestine and Jordan

This study aimed to assess the concentrations of 210Po and 210Pb in various tobacco samples from Palestine and Jordan. Cigarette smoking is recognized as a significant contributor to the radiation dose received by individuals, primarily due to the elevated levels of 210Pb and 210Po found in tobacco. The analysis revealed that the average concentrations of 210Po in locally sourced tobacco and cigarette samples in Palestine are 16.8 ± 2.3 mBq/g and 18.5 ± 2.0 mBq/g, with a total average of 17.8 ± 7.4 mBq/g (15.5 mBq/cigarette). Similarly, the average concentrations of 210Pb in these samples are 18.5 ± 2.6 mBq/g and 20.3 ± 2.2 mBq/g, with a total average of 19.6 ± 8.1 mBq/g (17.0 mBq/cigarette). In Jordan, the average concentrations of 210Po in cigarette samples and narghile tobacco are 20.1 ± 2.4 mBq/g and 18.3 ± 4.1 mBq/g, with a total average value of 19.6 ± 9.9 mBq/g (18.0 mBq/cigarette), while the average concentrations of 210Pb are 22.2 ± 2.6 mBq/g and 20.2 ± 4.5 mBq/g, with a total average value of 21.6 ± 10.8 mBq/g (19.9 mBq/cigarette). The annual effective doses resulting from inhalation were calculated for smokers of these samples. The findings revealed that the levels of 210Po and 210Pb radioactivity in certain investigated samples exceeded the results of studies in many countries of the world. The associated effective doses per year from smoking for all brands products in Palestine range from 34.7 μSv/y to 186.5 μSv/y with an average of 109.5 μSv/y, while in Jordan 54.5 μSv/y to 289.1 μSv/y with an average of 130.9 μSv/y.

The activity of 210Pb in cigarette smoked in Kazakhstan

The radon decay product 210Pb is a known component of tobacco. In this study, the activity concentration of 210Pb in the most popular cigarette brands (six samples) for Kazakhstan consumers was determined by beta spectrometry. The activity levels of 210Pb ranged between 2.69 ± 0.27 and 27.42 ± 2.74 mBq per cigarette. Higher activity concentrations for 210Pb were found in Sample No.4 and showed an excess of the world average by 1.8 times. The average activity concentrations of 210Pb in cigarette tobacco were 10.42 ± 1.04 mBq cig-1. The daily activities inhaled in the lungs of a smoker, and the resulting effective doses due to cigarette smoking were calculated. Effective doses per year due to cigarette smoking were calculated assuming that 42.13% of the 210Pb in tobacco were retained in the lungs of the smokers. It is concluded that for a smoker in Kazakhstan, the average effective dose ranges from 9.1 ± 0.9 μSv/year to 92.8 ± 9.3 μSv/year for a cigarette consumption of one pack of cigarettes per day. The results indicate that the annual effective doses from inhalation of 210Pb due to smoking one pack of cigarettes per day are from 7 to 58 times (for different types of cigarettes) greater than the annual effective doses from ingestion of radionuclides via the diet.

Review of natural radioactivity in tobacco cigarette brands

Cigarettes smoking are leading causes of lung cancer in the world. In several countries, the radioactivity of tobaccos cigarette brands has been evaluated to estimate the effective dose from smoking inhalation. In this paper, we have reviewed 40 researched papers of radioactivity in tobacco cigarette brands by searching specified databases from various search engines such as Web of Science, Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct and PubMed for the studies published between the year 2000 and November, 2023 in English language. Results show that, the arithmetic mean and range of radioactivity concentration in mBq/g were 20.4 (0.4-128.6), 15.4 (2.0-78.8), 630.8 (1.2-1330.0), 8.1 (0.3-41.0), 15.2 (0.2-82.0) and 5.9 (2.0-16.0) from 210Po, 210Pb, 40K, 232Th and 232U and 226Ra, respectively. The annual effective doses were also estimated using the assumption that a smoker smokes 20 cigarettes per day. The mean annual effective doses in μSv/y from 210Po, 210Pb, 40K, 232Th and 232U and 226Ra were 295, 74.1, 5.80, 889.7, 192.6 and 90.1, respectively. The mean annual effective dose is lower than the reference level 1000 to 20000 μSv/y for existing situation in ICRP Publication 103. The average value of ELCR is 1.03 ×10-3, 0.26 ×10-3,0.02 ×10-3,3.11 ×10-3,0.67 ×10-3 and 0.32 ×10-3 for 210Po, 210Pb, 40K, 232Th and 232U and 226Ra, respectively. The ELCR values obtained in this study are well below the world average value of 1.45 ×10-3. The mean value of LCC in per million is 5.3, 1.3, 0.1, 16, 3.5 and 1.6 for 210Po, 210Pb, 40K, 232Th and 232U and 226Ra, respectively. The values of LCC obtained in this study are all below the limit range of 170-230 per million persons. The result shows 232Th contribute much larger for annual effective dose, annual equivalent dose, ELCR and LCC for smoking tobacco cigarette brands compared to other radionuclides. More studies in radioactivity in tobacco cigarette brands from different countries are required to have conclusive mean annual effective dose, annual equivalent dose, ELCR and LCC for each natural radionuclide.

Dosimetry in the lungs of α-particles (210Po) and β-particles (210Pb) present in the tobacco smoke of conventional cigarettes and heated tobacco products

Tobacco products contain radioactive ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po which can be transferred from the filler to the mainstream smoke. When inhaled, they can contribute to the radioactive dose to the lungs and are suspected to significantly contribute to lung cancer from smoking. Currently, no data are available on the radioactive risk of the heated tobacco products (HTP). However, due to the relatively high heat involved in some of these devices, there are concerns about the volatility of polonium particles. Here we used data on the ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb content in tobacco smoke along with biokinetic and dosimetric models to compute the effective dose induced by conventional smoking and by using an HTP device (PMI IQOS system). Results show that conventional smoking of one pack per day induces a dose to the lung of about 0.3 mSv/year. This dose decreases by a factor of ten (0.03 mSv/year) for the IQOS system. However, this dose reduction is not obtained by specific countermeasures but by the fact that the IQOS system heats only 15% of the tobacco filler to the target temperature of 330 °C. When heated homogeneously to 300 °C, both conventional and Heets (IQOS) cigarettes release about 80% of the ²¹⁰Po from the tobacco, leading to similar doses to lungs.

Soil to tobacco component transfer factors for natural radionuclides 40K, 226Ra, and 232Th and the risk assessment of tobacco leaf in smoking

This study determined the activity concentrations and corresponding transfer factors (TF) of ⁴⁰K, ²²⁶Ra, and ²³²Th in three tobacco components (root, stem, and leaf). The radiation hazard index parameters were assessed for the tobacco leaf. The activity concentrations in the soil were 589-762, 32-43, and 49-59 Bq kg-dw^-1 (dry weight) for ⁴⁰K, ²²⁶Ra, and ²³²Th, respectively. The average activity concentrations of ⁴⁰K, ²²⁶Ra, and ²³²Th were 447, 5.41 and 5.69 Bq/kg-dw for the root, 670, 9.64 and 7.61 Bq kg-dw^-1 for the stem, and 793, 6.79 and 6.15 Bq kg-dw^-1 for the leaf, respectively. The TF values were 0.42-1.42, 0.10-0.49 and 0.06-0.23 for ⁴⁰K, ²²⁶Ra, and ²³²Th, respectively. The stem and leaf ⁴⁰K TF values were significantly higher than the root values. The stem ²²⁶Ra TF values were significantly higher than the root values. The ²²⁶Ra and ²³²Th activity concentrations and TFs of tobacco components had a significant positive correlation. Based on the activity concentrations of the tobacco leaves, the annual inhalation effective dose to the lungs for an adult smoker was 0.32-0.81 mSv y^-1 (average 0.60 mSv y^-1). The Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) caused by smoking was an average of 2.39 × 10^-3.

210Pb and 210Po concentration levels in tobacco products and resulting radiation dose for Egyptian smokers

The activity concentrations of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po in the most popular cigarettes and moassel tobacco brands consumed in Egypt were determined by the spontaneous deposition method using alpha spectrometry. It turned out that the activity concentration of ²¹⁰Po was higher than that of ²¹⁰Pb in all tobacco brands. Higher activity concentrations for both ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po were found in cigarette than in moassel tobacco. The average activity concentrations of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po in cigarette tobacco were 11.79 ± 1.67 and 15.00 ± 1.83 mBq cig^-1, respectively, whereas in moassel tobacco the values were 7.08 ± 1.91 and 9.12 ± 1.12 mBq g^-1, respectively. The daily activities inhaled in the lung of a smoker and the inhalation effective doses due to cigarette and shisha smoking were calculated. The results revealed that the total ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po daily activities inhaled and the total annual inhalation effective doses due to shisha smoking were two times greater than the corresponding values due to cigarette smoking. Also, the results indicated that the annual effective doses from inhalation of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po due to smoking 20 cigarettes per day are 14 and 16 times greater than the annual ingestion doses from the diet, respectively. In contrast, the annual effective doses from inhalation of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po due to shisha smoking (27 g moassel tobacco per day) are 26 and 33 times greater than the annual ingestion doses from the diet, respectively.