The alpha-radioactive polonium 210 (Po-210) is one of the most powerful carcinogenic agents of tobacco smoke and is responsible for the histotype shift of lung cancer from squamous cell type to adenocarcinoma. According to several studies, the principal source of Po-210 is the fertilizers used in tobacco plants, which are rich in polyphosphates containing radio (Ra-226) and its decay products, ...

Over 50% of the average individual’s radiation dose comes from exposure to radon decay products. Two of the radon decay products, Polonium-218 and Polonium-214, account for the majority of the radiation exposure to the lungs. Because we are building homes without radon resistant features faster than we are mitigating homes to reduce radon concentrations, more people are exposed to radon than ev...

The aim of this work was to determine the concentrations of uranium (234U, 235U, 238U), polonium (210Po) and lead (210Pb) radioisotopes in water samples and to explore the impact of the phosphogypsum stack on the Martwa Wisła waters. The 238U, 210Po and 210Pb concentrations in analyzed water samples reached maximum values of 11.7 ± 0.3, 2.0 ± 0.1 and 3.2 ± 0.1 mBq L-1 and activity ratios were m...

The activity of polonium (210)Po and uranium (234)U, (238)U radionuclides, as well as trace metals in mosses, collected from Sobieszewo Island area (northern Poland), were determined using the alpha spectrometry, AAS (atomic absorption spectrometry) and OES-ICP (atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma). The concentrations of mercury (directly from the solid sample) were det...

Currently, forty-two thallium, forty-two lead, forty-one bismuth, and forty-two polonium isotopes have so far been observed; the discovery of these isotopes is discussed. For each isotope a brief summary of the first refereed publication, including the production and identification method, is presented. ∗Corresponding author. Email address: [email protected] (M. Thoennessen) Preprint sub...

The thermodynamical properties of the main phases of metallic polonium are examined using Density Functional Theory. The exceptional nature of the solid-solid phase transition of α to β Po is underlined: it induces a lowering in symmetry, from cubic to rhombohedral, with increasing temperature. This is explained as the result of a delicate balance between bonding and entropic effects. Overall a...

Frédéric Joliot was born in Paris on 19th March 1900. His older brother was killed in the first few days of the 1914-1918 war. Frédéric joined the École de physique et chimie industrielles in Paris, where he studied physics at the top of his class. In December 1924, director of studies, Paul Langevin, presented him to Marie Curie; he became her personal assistant at the Radium Institute, which ...

Due to the relatively high activity concentrations of (210)Po and (210)Pb that are found in tobacco and its products, cigarette smoking highly increases the internal intake of both radionuclides and their concentrations in the lung tissues. That might contribute significantly to an increase in the internal radiation dose and in the number of instances of lung cancer observed among smokers. Samp...