Natural levels of polonium-210 in urine

This paper presents a review and analysis of available data on background levels of polonium-210 in
urine. It was established that 819 measurements could be considered to correspond to natural
background levels, excluding a large number of values identified by the original investigators as
potentially due to an artificial source or due to recognised enhancement of dietary intake. Almost
550 measurements were extracted from studies reported in the literature; additional measurements
were contributions of previously unpublished data by authors of more recent papers. The majority of
the measurements (462) were single samples from individuals but 357 values were repeat measurements
provided by 81 subjects and for these the mean value for each subject was used. The final dataset
consisted of measurements from 543 individuals. Analysis of the measurements confirmed the data was
log normally distributed with mean and median values of 15.5 mBq d −1 and 11 mBq d −1 in...

Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - June 11, 2018 Category: Physics Authors: Alan Hodgson Source Type: research