210po in Soil and Tobacco Leaves in Quang Xuong, Vietnam and Estimation of Annual Effective Dose to Smokers

Abstract

210Po is the main radiotoxic chemical in tobacco smoke and one of the primary causes of lung cancer. Investigating 210Po concentration in tobacco is important in estimating the annual effective dose (AED) due to smoking. In this study, the 210Po concentrations in tobacco leaves and soil in Quang Xuong, Vietnam were measured using a high-resolution passivated and implanted planar silicon detector. Based on these data the AEDs to smokers were estimated. The 210Po activity concentration in tobacco varied significantly from 28.7 to 254.0 mBq g−1, whereas its variation in soil was insignificant. The AED due to smoking fresh tobacco leaves in Vietnam (average 565 μSv y−1) was significantly higher than the values reported for other countries (36–361 μSv y−1).

Radiological risk assessment of outdoor 222Rn and 220Rn around rare earth element and uranium mines from northern Vietnam

“…Natural radionuclides from different sources in the environment, even in our bodies can originate from weathering of the earth's crust (rocks, soils, ores), food consumption, mining activity, and fertilizer materials (Azeez et al 2019, Querfeld et al 2019, Takagi et al 2019, Van et al 2020a, 2020b, 2020c, Loat et al 2021, Van et al 2021a, 2021b, 2021c, 2021d). In the air, radionuclides such as 222 Rn and 220 Rn originate from the alpha decay of 226 Ra in the 238 U series and 228 Ra ( 224 Ra) in the 232 Th decay series, respectively (Omori et al 2016).…”