Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsia)

["Björn Cedervall" <bjorn_cedervall@hotmail.com>]

Radsafers,

I checked a few refs. to understand more of the topic
"Brazil nuts" (Latin: Bertholletia excelsia, For any
Scandinavians - these are called "Paranuts" (or paranotter
with two dots over the "o") in Swedish - the large dark
brown nuts that we crack around X-mas time. Some vague
memory also tells me aflatoxins (?)).
Using Eisenbud (1963, page 153) there is 14 pCi per gram
as mentioned earlier in this forum. Multiply by
3.7x10E10 x 1000 (to get "Bq per kilo"). Isn't that around
500 Bq/kg? Or am I lost? All this refers to alpha activity.
The original ref. is Mayneord et al. (1958). I ask, how
would the relative estimated risk (cancer) of this compare
to K-40 Bq? (FGR. 13??).

This discussion reflects my own ideas which may not necessarily
coincide with those of others.

bjorn_cedervall@hotmail.com
---------------------------------------------------
>>Those Brazils nuts (500 Bq/kg) again: Does anyone
>>know the approximate composition of radioactive isotopes?
>>In particular if any alpha emitters worth mentioning
>>are there.
How many Bq of other kinds?/Bjorn
---------------------------------------------------
>Sorry, I do not keep numbers in mind and it took me a long time to 
learn to
>remember my own new telephone number...., but I can tell you that the
>Brazil nuts are therefore "(in)famous", because they contain elevated
>levels of Ra-226. I do not remember, how much it was, but I think it 
"very
>unlikely" that it would be 500 Bq/kg. Maybe some people count the 
tritium
>and C-14?


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