On the occurrence, origin, and intake of the nuclides, 210Po and 210Pb, in sclerotia of Wolfiporia cocos collected in China

Abstract

Abstract The dried sclerotium of the fungus Wolfiporia cocos is edible and has medicinal value. This study aimed to understand the accumulation of radioactivity arising from the alpha 210Po, and beta-emitting 210Pb, in the sclerotium’s shell and core and assess a potential effective dose for consumers. Sclerotia were collected in the wild and from cultivars in China’s Anhui and Yunnan provinces. The mean values of 210Po activity concentration levels were 0.36 Bq kg−1 dry weight in the core and 12.0 Bq kg−1 dw in the shell; 210Pb activities were 0.43 and 9.84 Bq kg−1 dw, respectively. The potential effective radiation doses from core layers (as a major raw material of the sclerotium) ranged from 0.13 to 3.43 µSv kg−1 dw from 210Po decay and from 0.11 to 1.52 µSv kg−1 dw from 210Pb decay. Corresponding values for shell ranged from 0.80 to 42.4 for 210Po and from 0.53 to 13.6 µSv kg−1 dw for 210Pb. In general, the intake of W. cocos sclerotia varies between consumers, but this would not significantly change the effective radiation doses from 210Po and 210Pb isotopes. The consumption thus appears to be safe from a radiological protection point of view. Graphical abstract