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

Dagmara Strumińska-Parulska, Aleksandra Moniakowska, Grzegorz Olszewski and Jerzy Falandysz
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Dagmara Strumińska-Parulska: Laboratory of Toxicology and Radiation Protection, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdańsk, 63 Wita Stwosza Street, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland
Aleksandra Moniakowska: Laboratory of Toxicology and Radiation Protection, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdańsk, 63 Wita Stwosza Street, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland
Grzegorz Olszewski: Laboratory of Toxicology and Radiation Protection, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdańsk, 63 Wita Stwosza Street, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland
Jerzy Falandysz: Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Łódź, 1 Muszyńskiego Street, 90-151 Łódź, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 18, 1-9

Abstract: 210 Po and 210 Pb 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 210 Po and 210 Po 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 210 Po and 210 Pb (54–471 µSv?kg ?1 ) from all sources, suggesting that these mushrooms are comparatively safe for human consumption.

Keywords: food toxicology; foodstuffs; forest; polonium; lead; radiochemistry; trace elements (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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