Radon estimation in some Indian tobacco, tea and tooth powder using CR-39 nuclear track detector

MEASUREMENT OF THE ACTIVITY CONCENTRATIONS OF GAMMA EMITTING RADIONUCLIDES IN TOOTHPASTE SAMPLES AND ASSESSMENT OF THE CORRESPONDING ANNUAL EFFECTIVE DOSES

It is inevitable that we are exposed to radiation daily from various sources and products that we consume on daily basis. The use of toothpaste for oral hygiene is one of the most common daily practices by humans and yet very little data are available regarding its radiation content. In this work, we investigated the concentrations of gamma emitting radionuclides in toothpaste samples consumed in Jordan. 40K and 226Ra were detected in almost one-third of the samples, whereas 228Ra was detected in nearly half of them. The corresponding activity concentrations in the detected samples were in the ranges of 68.7-154.2, 4.6-14.1 and 1.3-10.0 Bq/kg, respectively. Dose assessment of accidental ingestion of toothpaste for children and adults was made, and its contribution to the annual effective dose was found to be very minimal with maximum doses of ~2.9 and 1.3 μSv for children and adults, respectively.

Investigation of distribution of radioactivity with effects of heavy metals in toothpastes from Penang markets

This study was carried out to determine the concentration of ²²²Rn, ²²⁶Ra, and ²³⁸U in 25 different toothpastes available in the local market in Penang, Malaysia, using a CR-39 detector. The results showed the maximum concentration of radon/ radium/uranium to be 4197.644 Bq.m^-3, 54.369 Bq.Kgm^-1, and 0.044 ppm in Colgate4; the annual effective dose was found (0.402 mSvy^-1) in S07. The average concentration of radon (42 %, 3.224 KBq.m^-3) was higher than the concentration of ²¹⁴Po, ²¹⁸Po in POS (32 %, 2.415 KBq.m^-3) and POW (26 %, 1.979 KBq.m^-3). Also the values of pH of samples ranged from 4.21 (highly acidic) in S04 to 9.97 (highly basic) in S07, with an average of 6.33 which tended towards an acidic behavior; a low or high pH for a long period of time can cause harmful side-effects and enamel erosion. Concentrations of heavy metals varied from the maximum value 56.156 ppm in the Ca elements in the Colgate 4 sample to a minimum value of -0.858 ppm in the Cd elements in Colgate 6 (Ca 56.156 ppm > Cd 51.572 ppm > Zn 41.039 ppm > Mg 11.682 ppm > Pb 11.009 ppm]. Monitoring the accumulation of these metals in toothpaste samples is very important: the average annual effective dose (0.3118 mSvy^-1) was below the range (3-10 mSvy^-1) reported by ICRP (1993), and therefore there is no evidence of health problems. Significant strong positive correlations were found (r = 1, Pearson correlation, p < 0.000) in concentration of radon, radium, uranium, annual effective dose, pH, and electrical conductivity.