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Updated: Jun 18, 2026

A Protocol for Detecting and Scavenging Gas-phase Free Radicals in Mainstream Cigarette Smoke
Published on: January 2, 2012
POLONIUM-210: A VOLATILE RADIOELEMENT IN CIGARETTES
Abstract:
Polonium-210, which emits alpha particles, is a natural contaminant of tobacco. For an individual smoking two packages of cigarettes a day, the radiation dose to bronchial epithelium from Po(210) inhaled in cigarette smoke probably is at least seven times that from background sources, and in localized areas may be up to 1000 rem or more in 25 years. Radiation from this source may, therefore, be significant in the genesis of bronchial cancer in smokers.
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Types of Radioactivity
Alpha (α) decay is the emission of an α particle from the nucleus. For example, polonium-210 undergoes α decay:
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Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Instrumentation
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Interference
Atomic Fluorescence Spectroscopy

