Radioactive artificial 137Cs and natural 40K activity in 21 edible mushrooms of the genus Boletus species from SW China

Abstract

This study, for the first time, presents the results of activity concentration determinations for 137Cs and 40K in a high number (21 species, 87 composite samples, and 807 fruiting bodies) of mushrooms of the genus Boletus from across Yunnan in 2011–2014 and Sichuan (Boletus tomentipes) using high-resolution high-purity germanium detector. Activity concentrations of 137Cs demonstrated some variability and range from <4.4 to 83 ± 3 Bq kg−1 dry biomass in caps and from <3.8 to 37 ± 3 Bq kg−1 dry biomass in stipes, and of 40K, respectively, from 420 ± 41 to 1300 ± 110 and from 520 ± 61 to 1300 ± 140 Bq kg−1 dry biomass. No significant variations were observed regarding 137Cs and 40K activity concentrations among the same Boletus species from different sampling sites. No activity concentrations from 134Cs were detected in any mushrooms. Internal dose rates estimated were from intake of 1 kg of mushrooms per annum for 137Cs range for species and regions from around <0.0031 to 0.047 ± 0.003 μSv, while those for 40K were from around 0.22 ± 0.04 to 1.2 ± 0.1 μSv. The overall intake of 137Cs was low since low contamination was found in Boletus species.