[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Radioactive dose from smoking




-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: LancerGT@aol.com <LancerGT@aol.com>
An: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
Datum: Mittwoch, 31. Jänner 2001 19:08
Betreff: Re: Radioactive dose from smoking


>
>I have, over the years on various DOE projects, read references to the fact
>that smoking  results in an equivilent dose to the heart/lung on the order
5
>- 8 rem annually for a 2 pack a day smoker. Does anyone know what the
>specific source of such exposures would be and from where this information
>might have been obtained?


David,

The main reason for the dose to the lung is Po-210 present in enhanced
(whatever this means) concentrations in tobacco leaves. It seems to be a
kind of a concentration process from soil uptake as it is known for various
plants and especially selected mushrooms to take up Cs-137 and also heavy
metals preferentially. An additional dose can be attributed due to Cs-137 in
tobacco leaves from areas which were affected by the Chernobyl accident,
like Turkey. Tobacco is known to concentrate Cs-137 as well.

The concentration alone is not the governing factor for the dose. Polonium
is very volatile and Cs-137 is volatile at temperature above about 450
degrees Celsius. The temperature in the tip of a burning cigarette may reach
up to 900 degres Celsius, so that evaporation of these two radionuclides and
their transport to the lung is guaranteed.

Do not forget that you need not smoke, in order to get your alpha-emitting
radionuclides from radon into your lung! But do not forget either that the
main reason of lung cancer is smoking and the various cancerogenic compounds
like benz-pyrene inhaled, not radon.

Best regards,

Franz


BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:2.1
N:Schoenhofer;Franz
FN:Franz Schoenhofer
ORG:Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, Department of Radiation Protection
TEL;WORK;VOICE:+43-1-71100-4458
TEL;HOME;VOICE:+43-1-495 53 08
TEL;CELL;VOICE:+43-699-116 813 19
TEL;WORK;FAX:+43-1-7122331
TEL;HOME;FAX:+43-1-495 53 08
ADR;WORK:;;Radetzkystr. 2;A-1031 Vienna;;;Austria
LABEL;WORK;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:Radetzkystr. 2=0D=0AA-1031 Vienna=0D=0AAustria
ADR;HOME:;;Habicherg. 31/7;A-1160 Vienna;;;Austria
LABEL;HOME;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:Habicherg. 31/7=0D=0AA-1160 Vienna=0D=0AAustria
EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:franz.schoenhofer@chello.at
REV:20010131T191133Z
END:VCARD