Assessment of Radionuclide Concentration in Dried and Woven Tobacco Products Consumed in Benue State

ABSTRACTS

Assessment of radionuclide concentration in Dried and Woven Tobacco products (DWT) consumed in Benue state was carried out using a lead-shielded 76mm × 76mm NaI(TI) detector crystal (Model No. 802 series, Canberra Inc.) coupled to a Canberra series 10 plus Multichannel Analyzer (MCA) (Model No. 1104) through a preamplifier. The detector measured the radionuclide activity concentrations in dried and woven tobacco samples that were collected from Apa, Oju, Konshisha, Kwande, Gboko and Guma Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state. The results showed that the average values of activity concentrations (Bqkg^-1) of ⁴⁰K, ²³⁸U and ²³²Th in the analyzed DWT samples from the selected LGAs across Benue state were 1110.95 ± 54.80, 17.54 ± 1.91 and 5.06 ± 0.30 Bqkg^‑1 respectively. Meanwhile, the mean value of radium equivalent activity (Ra_eq) obtained for the DWT products was 110.32 Bqkg^‑1 and was found to be lower than the UNSCEAR recommended limit of 370 Bqkg^‑1.  The estimated average values of annual effective doses (µSvy^-1) were 68.87 and 34.43 for inhaling 100% and 50% of smoke from 1 stick of DWT respectively, in one day. These values were found to be lower than the UNSCEAR recommended limit of 1260 µSvy^-1. However, consuming about 40 sticks of DWT (equivalent to 2 packs of cigarettes) daily would result to an annual effective dose of 1337.20 µsvy^-1 for the primary smoker. This value was therefore found to be higher than the recommended limit of 1260 µSvy^-1. In addition, the estimated excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) averaged 0.24×10^-3 and 0.12×10^-3 for inhaling 100% o and 50% of smoke from 1 stick of DWT respectively, in one day. These values of ELCR were higher than the UNSCEAR recommended limit of 0.2×10^-3 for inhaling 100% of smoke from 1 stick of DWT daily and the primary smoker consuming at least 2 sticks of DWT daily. Thus, the DWT products processed as well as consumed in Benue state may pose health risks, especially to addicted consumers of the products and it is recommended that public awareness should be made about the harmful effects resulting from DWT tobacco use in order to enlighten the consumers of these products on the alarming health threats associated with dried and woven tobacco.

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WSN 191 (2024) 43-55

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