Natural variation in 210Po and 210Pb activity concentrations in the urine of Finnish population groups

Abstract

A study to determine activity concentrations of (210)Pb and (210)Po in the urine of certain Finnish population groups was conducted, to investigate the variation in natural background level of urinary excretion. The study participants were divided into three groups mainly based on their diet. The first group comprised recreational fishermen and the second group represented people consuming more reindeer meat than an average Finn, while people using drinking water with very high activity concentrations of (210)Po were selected for the third group. The fourth group was a control group. The mean urinary excretion of (210)Po in groups 1 and 2 was 73 and 100 mBq d(-1), respectively. These values were higher than the value of the control group (20 mBq d(-1)) and the mean values reported in the literature. The mean daily urinary excretion of (210)Pb in groups 1 and 2, 70 and 52 mBq d(-1), was also slightly higher than that in the control group (32 mBq d(-1)). In contrast, the excretion rates of both (210)Po and (210)Pb for the members of group 3 were one to two orders of magnitude higher than those reported in the literature. This was clearly due to the elevated levels of natural radionuclides in their drinking water. The present study demonstrates the importance of possessing good knowledge of the background levels, in order to allow the determination of the additional exposure due, for example, to the malevolent use of radiation.

Transfer of Natural Radionuclides in Terrestrial Food Chains—A Review of Investigations in Finland

“…In the case of 210 Po, the average activity concentration was over five times higher in the residents of Lapland compared to those in southern Finland. In a recent study, Muikku et al [26] reported that the 210 Po content in urine was three times higher in reindeer herders than the control group representing the average population. However, in the case of 210 Pb, there was no difference.…”

Recent progresses in analytical method development for 210Pb in environmental and biological samples

“…Human urine has a relatively complex matrix with high total dissolved solids and salt content, which needs to be pretreated to reduce matrix effects before chemical separation (Kang et al 2021 ). Muikku et al ( 2011 ) determined 210 Pb activity concentrations in urine by microwave-assisted acid digestion after adding concentrated HNO 3 and 209 Po to 90 mL of sample. The use of microwave digestion minimizes the operational time and consumption of reagents and energy (Mingote and Nogueira 2016 ).…”