Study of Polonium-210 in Persian Cigarette and Tobacco Crops

Abstract

Alpha radiation from Polonium-210 (210Po) is considered to be an important agent of bronchial cancer in smokers. Besides reexamination of the radionuclide in domestic and imported cigarette brands separately, the radioactive contamination was also followed during the cigarette-producing procedure in Gilan as one of the major regions of tobacco cultivation in Iran. The activity level of 210Po in Iranian domestic and imported cigarettes averaged 38.4 ± 6% and 20.0 ± 7% mBq g−1, respectively. Drying in direct contact with fumes of fossil fuel seems like one of the main excessive sources of 210Po in Persian cigarettes.