Investigation of Radionuclides in Shisha Tobacco and Hazards Impact on the Egyptian Smokers

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Physics Department, Faculty of Women for Arts, Science and Education, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

2 Physics Department, Faculty of Women for Arts, Science and Education, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.

Abstract

Number of Shisha smokers has been increased drastically in the last ten years among Egyptians, and smoking shisha has become routine life style not only in popular placed but also in coffee shops and adults clubs. The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) provided evidence of the potential health effects when the smokers exposed to shisha similar to a cigarette that contains nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer- causing chemicals. Selected samples has been investigated in two profiles wet samples (profile A) and dry sample (profile B). The average value of activity concentration for 238U, 226Ra, 232Th and 40K are 40.96, 4.52, 3.88 and 398.43 Bq/kg, respectively, for wet samples. For dry samples, the average value of   activity concentration for 238U, 226Ra, 232Th and 40K are 50.19, 6.82, 4.31 and 367.07 Bq/kg, respectively. It is clear that the dry samples are little bit higher than the wet samples expect 40K concentration. Furthermore, the radon concentration values for all studied samples are lower than 300 Bq/m3.  The hazard parameters has been determined for two profiles of the studied samples which lower than the recommended value of worldwide.

Keywords