Determination of alpha-emitters in Brazilian tobacco

Polonium-210 and lead-210 in the terrestrial environment: a historical review

“…The concentration of polonium-210 in tobacco is highly affected by the use of phosphate fertilizers (Nain et al, 2006;Santos et al, 1992;Tso et al, 1968). The activity concentrations in tobacco harvested at different years in various countries are displayed in Fig.…”

Uranium and thorium in soils, mineral sands, water and food samples in a tin mining area in Nigeria with elevated activity

“…Cigarettes were also investigated, as they are known to be an additional source of uranium and thorium intake (Rawat et al, 1992;Santos et al, 1994). The activity concentrations of 238 U and 232 Th in sections of cigarettes are presented in Table 4.…”

Radionuclide content and state of isotopic disequilibrium in some utilized smoking pastes

“…Some of these studies reported that the principal mechanism of their incorporation into the tobacco leaves involves uptake into roots from the soil and phosphate fertilizers [8,9]. Other studies suggested that the deposition of 210 Pb as a radon daughter product by the rainfall is the principal mechanism of 210 Pb and 210 Po entry to the plant [11][12][13]. Proportionally, there are fewer studies [3,6,11,14,15] on the other longlived radionuclides of the uranium decay series (namely 238 U, 234 U and 226 Ra) in tobacco.…”

“…Other studies suggested that the deposition of 210 Pb as a radon daughter product by the rainfall is the principal mechanism of 210 Pb and 210 Po entry to the plant [11][12][13]. Proportionally, there are fewer studies [3,6,11,14,15] on the other longlived radionuclides of the uranium decay series (namely 238 U, 234 U and 226 Ra) in tobacco. These radionuclides are also abundant in the soil and in most phosphate fertilizers that are applied to the soil because natural uranium can substitute calcium in natural phosphate-rock structures.…”