Polonium and lead in human hair as indicators of internal contamination

摘要

Polonium (210Po) and radioactive lead (210Pb) were measured in samples of human hair from variousgroups of the Portuguese population living in regions with different environmental radioactivity levels andconsuming different diets. Concentrations of ~(210)Po in the hair increased with the age of individuals in all groups,suggesting an increase of the whole body burdens of ~(210)Po and ~(210)Po-parent radionuclides. Furthermore, ~(210)Poconcentrations in human hair vary amongst groups being higher in people ingesting a diet higher in poloniumconcentration. Lead (~(210)Pb) concentration in the hair of each human group displayed concentrations nearlyindependent of individuals’ age, suggesting the elimination of this radionuclide at a constant rate notproportional with the whole body burden. Results for the overall population show that there is a large variationof ~(210)Po concentrations in human hair, but, moreover, there are average trends that reflect the exposure and lifetime accumulation of this radionuclide and/or their parent nuclides in the body.