Isotopes of (210)Po and (210)Pb in Hazel bolete (Leccinellum pseudoscabrum) – bioconcentration, distribution and related dose assessment

The hazel bolete Leccinellum pseudoscabrum (Kallenb.) Mikšík 2017 specimens and beneath soil layer (0–10 cm) have been examined on the occasion of (210)Po and (210)Pb activity concentrations, the nuclide bioaccumulation potential by species and distribution in fruit bodies. Mushrooms and forest soils came from six geographically distant locations in the northern and central parts of Poland. The threat to humans from (210)Po and (210)Pb contained in mushrooms has been also assessed. The absolute values of the (210)Po radioactivity, respectively, in caps and stems of fruit bodies were in the range 0.74 ± 0.06–8.59 ± 0.36 Bq kg(−1) dry biomass and from 0.81 ± 0.06–8.23 ± 0.37 Bq kg(−1) dry biomass, while the values of the (210)Pb radioactivity in caps and stems were in the range 0.61 ± 0.04–6.33 ± 0.22 Bq kg(−1) dry biomass and 0.83 ± 0.04–4.59 ± 0.24 Bq kg(−1) dry biomass, respectively. A potential related effective dose assessment showed that mushrooms L. pseudoscabrum can contribute at 0.89–10.3 μSv kg(−1) db from (210)Po decay and 0.42–4.37 μSv kg(−1) db from (210)Pb decay.