On the extraction efficiency of highly radiotoxic 210Po in Polish herbal teas and possible related dose assessment

Falandysz

2020

IJERPH

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Alpha-emitting radioisotopes are the most toxic among all radionuclides. In particular, medium to long-lived isotopes of the heavier metals are of the greatest concern to human health and radiological safety. This review focuses on the most common alpha-emitting radionuclides of natural and anthropogenic origin in wild mushrooms from around the world. Mushrooms bio-accumulate a range of mineral ionic constituents and radioactive elements to different extents, and are therefore considered as suitable bio-indicators of environmental pollution. The available literature indicates that the natural radionuclide 210Po is accumulated at the highest levels (up to 22 kBq/kg dry weight (dw) in wild mushrooms from Finland), while among synthetic nuclides, the highest levels of up to 53.8 Bq/kg dw of 239+240Pu were reported in Ukrainian mushrooms. The capacity to retain the activity of individual nuclides varies between mushrooms, which is of particular interest for edible species that are consumed either locally or, in some cases, also traded on an international scale. The effective radiation dose from the ingestion of this food can reportedly range from 0.033 µSv/kg dw to 26.8 mSv/kg and varies depending on the country. Following pollution events, such consumption may expose consumers to highly radiotoxic decay particles produced by alpha emitters.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of the Occurrence of Alpha-Emitting Radionuclides in Wild Mushrooms

Falandysz

2020

IJERPH

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“…These calculated effective radiation dose values from the samples in this study are relatively low in comparison to other regular Polish food products, such as sea fish (24.6 µSv·y −1 ), dietary supplements (12 µSv·y −1 ), fresh red currants and potatoes (3 µSv·y −1 ), herbal teas (6.57 µSv·y −1 ), stimulants such as cigarettes (471 µSv·y −1 ) [ 16 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ] or other mushrooms species such as M. procera (11.62 µSv·y −1 ) and Leccinum spp. (14.4 μSv∙kg −1 db) [ 11 , 18 , 19 , 28 , 46 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 86%

210Po and 210Pb in King Bolete (Boletus edulis) and Related Mushroom Species: Estimated Effective Radiation Dose and Geospatial Distribution in Central and Eastern Europe

Moniakowska

Olszewski

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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210Po and 210Pb occur naturally and are the most radiotoxic isotopes of the uranium (U) decay chain. Samples of Boletus edulis and related mushroom species, including B. pinophilus, B. reticulatus, B. luridus and B. impolitus, collected from Poland and Belarus were investigated for the activity concentrations of these isotopes and also for their potential health risk through adult human consumption. The results showed that spatially, the occurrence of 210Po and 210Po was heterogeneous, with activities varying from 0.91 to 4.47 Bq∙kg−1 dry biomass and from 0.82 to 5.82 Bq∙kg−1 db, respectively. Caps and stipes of the fruiting bodies showed similar levels of contamination. Consumption of boletes foraged in Poland could result in exposure to a combined radiation dose of 10 µSv∙kg−1 db from both isotopes. This dose is not significant compared to the total annual effective radiation dose of 210Po and 210Pb (54–471 µSv∙kg−1) from all sources, suggesting that these mushrooms are comparatively safe for human consumption.

“…The annual effective dose from the total natural radiation in Poland was estimated at 2.1–2.6 mSv, while 210 Po and 210 Pb taken with food and water give 54 μSv (Pietrzak-Flis et al 1997 ). Therefore, the evaluated effective doses from the intake of uncooked L. pseudoscabrum in volume equivalent to 1 kg of dried fruit bodies seemed to be low when compared with other domestic food products available in Poland (Strumińska-Parulska 2015 ; Strumińska-Parulska et al 2016 ; Strumińska-Parulska and Olszewski 2018 ; Olszewski et al 2019 ). Lead leaks at a high rate out of the fruit bodies in the course of the household treatment (e.g., blanching, pickling) or industrial processing (canning) (Drewnowska et al 2017 ; Pankavec et al 2019 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Isotopes of 210Po and 210Pb in Hazel bolete (Leccinellum pseudoscabrum) – bioconcentration, distribution and related dose assessment

Szymańska

Falandysz

2019

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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The hazel bolete Leccinellum pseudoscabrum (Kallenb.) Mikšík 2017 specimens and beneath soil layer (0–10 cm) have been examined on the occasion of 210 Po and 210 Pb activity concentrations, the nuclide bioaccumulation potential by species and distribution in fruit bodies. Mushrooms and forest soils came from six geographically distant locations in the northern and central parts of Poland. The threat to humans from 210 Po and 210 Pb contained in mushrooms has been also assessed. The absolute values of the 210 Po radioactivity, respectively, in caps and stems of fruit bodies were in the range 0.74 ± 0.06–8.59 ± 0.36 Bq kg −1 dry biomass and from 0.81 ± 0.06–8.23 ± 0.37 Bq kg −1 dry biomass, while the values of the 210 Pb radioactivity in caps and stems were in the range 0.61 ± 0.04–6.33 ± 0.22 Bq kg −1 dry biomass and 0.83 ± 0.04–4.59 ± 0.24 Bq kg −1 dry biomass, respectively. A potential related effective dose assessment showed that mushrooms L. pseudoscabrum can contribute at 0.89–10.3 μSv kg −1 db from 210 Po decay and 0.42–4.37 μSv kg −1 db from 210 Pb decay.