On the radiotoxic 210Po in coffee beans worldwide and the impact of roasting and brewing on its extraction into beverages: from the experiments to 210Po content prediction

Abstract

We determined radiotoxic 210Po in roasted coffee beans from different regions worldwide, the beverages, and tried to create the prediction model of 210Po content based on its growth location. Additionally, the experiments on 210Po losses and extraction were performed to describe the actual exposure to 210Po. 210Po concentrations in coffee beans and brews tuned out low (maximally of 0.20 Bq∙kg−1 and 2.31 Bq∙L−1, respectively). We assessed the impact of the roasting process on 210Po content and its losses at a maximum of 56.7%. During infusion experiments, we estimated the extraction of 210Po to the coffee brew at a maximum of 40.6%. The amount of 210Po in the coffee brew depended on the infusion style and water type. We calculated the effective radiation doses from the coffee drink ingestion. Coffee drinking does not contribute significantly to the annual effective radiation dose worldwide. Graphical Abstract

The presence of radiotoxic 210Po and 210Pb in Ukrainian wild medicinal plants and the assessment of related dose and cancer risk

“…In Malaysian medicinal plants, the average annual effective doses through ingestion of medicinal plants and other natural radionuclides were 2.73 µSv year −1 for 226 Ra and 4.01 µSv year −1 for 40 K, while the intake of common ayurvedic medicines at prescribed dosage was found to be 39 µSv year −1 (Monica et al., 2020; Shuaibu et al., 2023). Thus, as presented, the analyzed medicinal plants and calculated annual effective doses seemed to be comparable not only to other Polish food products but worldwide and would not increase significantly the effective dose received with food products, and there is no radiological risk connected to the use of herbal plants (Olszewski et al., 2023; Strumińska‐Parulska & Falandysz, 2020; Strumińska‐Parulska & Olszewski, 2018; Strumińska‐Parulska et al., 2021). Also, the results indicate that the intake of 210 Po and 210 Pb with the analyzed herbs seems to be safe from the radiation protection point of view, as the doses are lower than the annual dose limit of 1 mSv for the general public given by IAEA (1996).…”