Determination and distribution of Po-210 in tobacco plants from Poland

The aim of this study was the determination one of the most radiotoxic elem ents, Po-210 in different parts of tobacco plant from Poland. Investigation revealed that polonium is non-uniformly distributed within tobacco plant. Tobacco leaves constituting about 50% of the wet mass, contain 87.1% of the total burden of Po-210. Among the analyzed leaves about 66% of polonium is located in the oldest, over-ground part. The data obtained here indicate t hat Po-210 is generally taken up by tobacco from the dry or wet deposition of the radioactive fall-out onto the plant. Moreover, Po-210 concentration in tobacco leaves from Poland are higher than that in the other countries.