Radioactive 210Po in magnesium supplements

The aim of this pioneer study was to determine polonium Po-210 in the most popular magnesium supplements in Poland and estimate the possible related dose assessment to the consumers. The analyzed magnesium pharmaceutics contained organic or inorganicmagnesium compounds; some from natural sources. The objectives of this research were to investigate the naturally occurring Po-210 activity concentrations in magnesium supplements, find the correlations between Po-210 concentration in medicament and magnesium chemical form, and calculate the effective radiation dose connected to analyzed magnesium supplement consumption. The highest Po-210 activity concentrations were determined in mineral tablets made from sedimentary rocks, namely dolomite -3.84 +/- 0.15 mBq g(-1) (sample Mg17). The highest annual radiation dose from Po-210 taken with 1 tablet of magnesium supplement per day or with 400 mg of pure Mg daily would come from sample Mg17 (dolomite) - 1.35 +/-+/- 0.5 and 8.44 +/- 0.33 mu Sv year(-1) respectively.