Biodistribution of 210Po in seafood and risk assessment for consumers in Sweden

Abstract

Seafood consumption per capita, in Sweden, is larger than World and European average. Although, 36% of Swedes consume seafood meals at least two times per week, the Swedish National Food Agency advises the necessity to increase this ratio. Seafood is one of the main entrances of 210Po in the human food chain. Due to the high radiotoxicity, the intake of 210Po plays an important role in the human health, even in extremely small quantities. In this study, 114 seafood samples representing 52 different marine species were analyzed. The biodistribution of 210Po in seafood species were not uniformly distributed being higher in digestive system and gonads, and lower in seafood muscle. The activity concentration of 210Po in fish ranged between 0.01 and 26 Bq/kg with an average value of 4 Bq/kg, whereas in shellfish fluctuated between 0.1 and 239 Bq/kg, with a mean concentration of 18 Bq/kg. In general, the activity concentration of 210Po in processed products were lower than fresh samples due to the decay of 210Po from seafood capture to purchase. However, in boiled seafood such as Norway Lobster, with short elapsed time from collection to purchase, the boil samples presented higher activity concentration of 210Po than fresh products. The results of the study showed that the annual intake of 210Po via seafood consumption in Sweden exponentially increased by age and it was slightly higher in males than females. As a result, the annual committed dose ranged from 60 to 154 μSv, with an average value of 103 ± 31 μSv, being controlled by fish consumption below 14 years old and by seafood consumption above 14 years old. Finally, the committed effective dose could increase up to 479 μSv/y for population group with higher seafood consumption.