Dose estimates for the local inhabitants from 210Po ingestion via dietary sources a a proposed uranium mining site in India

Purpose: To study the distribution of 210Po activity in food in Bagjata in East Singhbhum, India. Materials and methods: 210Po were analyzed in the food samples of plant origin such as cereals, pulses, fruits, vegetables and food of animal origin such fi sh, chicken, egg, etc., in and around Bagjata uranium mining area as a part of baseline study after acid digestion. The intake and ingestion dose of the radionuclide was estimated. Results: The general range of 210Po activity in all the dietary components ranged widely from < 0.2– 36 Bqkg−1 fresh. In the food of plant origin, the minimum activity of 210Po was estimated in vegetables while maximum in pulses. In food of animal origin, the observed minimum activity of 210Po was in eggs and the maximum observed was in chicken samples. The intake of 210Po considering all dietary components was found to be 464 Bq.Y−1 while the ingestion dose was calculated to be 557 μ Sv. Y−1, respectively. The estimated doses are refl ecting the natural background dose via the route of ingestion, which is much below the 1 mSv limit set in the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommendations. Conclusion: The study confi rms that current levels of 210Po do not pose a signifi cant radiological risk to the local inhabitants