Polonium-210 concentration in cuban tobacco products and radiation hazard due to cigar and cigarette smoke

The tobacco leaves used in making cigarettes contain radioactive material, particularly lead-210 and polonium-210. The cumulative alpha-radiation dose due to the radioactive content of inhaled cigarette smoke and the increasing number of lung cancer cases explain the importance of the investigation. The present study investigated the 210Po activity concentration on the 11 most frequently smoked brands of cigarettes and cigars which constitute over 75% of the total cigarette consumption in Cuba. Moreover, the polonium content in cigarette smoke was estimated on the basis of its activity in cigarettes, ash, fresh filters and post-smoking filters. 210Po was determined by gas flow proportional detector after spontaneous deposition of 210Po on a high copper-content disk. The annual committed equivalent dose for lungs and the annual effective dose for smokers between 12-17 years old and for adults were calculated on the basis of the 210Po inhalation through cigarette smoke. The results showed concentrations ranging from 9.3 to 14.4 mBq per cigarette with a mean value of 11.8 ± 0.6 mBq.Cig-1. The results of this work indicate that Cuban smokers who smoke one pack (20 cigarettes) per day inhale from 62 to 98 mBq.d-1 of 210Po and smokers between 12-17 years old who consume 10 cigarettes daily inhale from 30-50 mBq.d-1. The average committed equivalent dose for lungs is estimated to be 466 ± 36 and 780 ± 60 μ Sv.year-1 for young and adult smokers, respectively and annual committed effective dose is calculated to be 60 ± 5 and 100 ± 8 μ Sv for these two groups of smokers, respectively and radiobiological effects of cigarette smoke are discussed. (author)