R. D. Cherry

Polonium-210 and lead-210 in marine food chains

Abstract210Po and 210Pb have been measured systematically in whole animals, muscle and hepatopancreas of crustaceans and of molluscan cephalopods representative of a pelagic and benthic food chain. The same nuclides were also measured in liver, pyloric caecum, stomach contents and muscle of tuna. The concentration factors from sea water to whole animals were approximately constant along both food chains, being of the order of 104 for 210Po and 102 for 210Pb. The highest concentration factors were found in shrimp of the genus Sergestes. In muscle, the concentration factors were an order of magnitude less; in the hepatopancreas, they were an order of magnitude higher, reaching 106 in shrimp of the genus Sergestes. Such concentrations imply alpha-radiation doses of the order of 10 rem per year and more in this organ, which contains about 50 to 90% of the 210Po in the whole animal in the 11 species analyzed. A detailed study of the intracellular behaviour of 210Po in the hepatopancreas is clearly indicated. 210Po can be used as a sensitive natural tracer in biological systems. Thus, feeding Meganyctiphanes norvegica in the laboratory on food low in 210Po led to an approximate value of about 61/2 days for the biological half-life of 210Po in the hepatopancreas of this euphausiid. Furthermore, the data on 210Po and 210Pb in the cephalopod hepatopancreas allowed the time of conservation of frozen squid which had been bought at the market to be estimated.

Polonium-210 in euphausiids: A detailed study

A detailed study of 210Po, the predominant alpha-emitting nuclide found in most marine organisms, has been undertaken in a particular zooplanktonic species, the euphausiid Meganyctiphanes norvegica. The purpose was to obtain information concerning the origin, the localization and the flux of the nuclide in and through this organism. Measurements of 210Po were made in euphausiids of different sizes, in dissected organs and tissues, and in excretion products. The results show higher concentrations in the smaller specimens; this fact cannot be explained on the basis of surface adsorption, but is probably related to the ingestion of food. Dissection results show that the distribution of 210Po in euphausiids is not homogeneous, but that the majority is concentrated in the internal organs, the alimentary tract and the hepatopancreas in particular. The natural radiation dose received by these organs is in consequence much higher than that received by the whole animal. Use of a dynamic model allowed the flux of 210Po through M. norvegica to be calculated. The calculations confirm that food is the principal source of 210Po for this species, and clearly show that fecal pellets constitute the major elimination route. Extrapolation of the data to zooplankton in general leads to the conclusion that zooplankton metabolic activity plays an important role in transporting 210Po from the surface layers of the ocean to depth.

210Po and 210Pb in zooplankton fecal pellets

Abstract210Po and 210Pb concentrations in fecal pellets from the zooplanktonic euphausiid Meganyctiphanes norvegica are reported. The 210Po:210Pb activity ratio is 2.2±0.3, a value in good agreement with that found in suspended particulate matter in surface seawater. Estimates of 210Po and 210Pb removal times from the mixed layer by fecal pellets alone yield values which are of the same order of magnitude as the removal times for these nuclides by all routes. It is suggested that there is a high probability that zooplanktonic fecal pellets play a significant role in the removal of both these nuclides from the surface layers of the ocean.

Polonium-210 in Marine Plankton

THE occurrence of polonium-210 and its precursor lead-210 in the natural radiation environment has been studied increasingly during the last decade. Radon emanating from materials in the Earths crust introduces lead-210 into the atmosphere and there is then a natural fallout of lead-210 and its daughters. These nuclides are then incorporated into natural samples in the hydrosphere and lithosphere. Papers by Burton and Stewart1, Patterson and Lockhart2 and Peirson et al.3 provide data for lead-210 and polonium-210 in air and in rainwater. Hill4 has discussed in detail the concentrations of polonium-210 and lead-210 in foodstuffs, tobaccos and human tissues from various environments, and additional data have been provided by Hill5, Holtzmami6, Little and McGandy7 and others.

Natural tracers in dietary studies: data for 210Po and 210Pb in decapod shrimp and other pelagic organisms in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean

Measurements of the concentrations of the naturally-occurring radioactive nuclides 210Po and 210Pb in a large number of pelagic organisms from the Atlantic Ocean made in the spring/summer of 1984 and 1985 are reported. Marine shrimp are particularly well represented, and in many cases data were obtained for shrimp hepatopancreas, stomach-contents, and posterior intestine plus contents, as well as for whole individuals. The wide ranges found in 210Po concentrations group into categories: the shrimp, for example, divide into four categories, two penaeid and two carid. These groupings are explained on the basis of variations in diet between the different categories. A clear difference was also observed between the 210Po levels in shrimp of similar species and size from opposite sides of an oceanographic front; this difference too can be explained plausibly in terms of a change in certain penaeid shrimp, and attention is drawn to the need for investigation of cytological and/or genetic effects which could possibly be caused by the very high natural radiation doses to which such organisms are exposed.

Polonium-210 and lead-210 in Antarctic marine biota and sea water

Concentrations of the naturally-ocurring radionuclides 210Po and 210Pb were measured in krill (Euphausia superba), mesozooplankton, phytoplankton and sea water collected during the South African SIBEX cruise to the Antarctic in autumn 1984. The data reported constitute the first substantial measurements on 210Po and 210Pb in such samples in the Antarctic Ocean. The concentrations of 210Po in mesozooplankton and phytoplankton are unexceptional in comparison with those from other oceans. The SIBEX E. superba, however, have higher levels of 210Po than usually found in euphausiids. The 210Po data, combined with reasonable estimates of biological quantitites such as the fractional assimilation, are used to obtain information about the diet of E. superba. It is suggested that the higher 210Po in the SIBEX E. superba reflects a change from an almost entirely phytoplanktonic diet in summer to a more omnivorous diet as winter approaches. The data show that there are allometric relationships between the 210Po content of euphausiids and animal size; these are discussed briefly. The limited sea-water data presented are characterized by unusually high 210Po:210Pb activity ratios and need further investigation.

210Pb as a dietary indicator in the Antarctic pelagic community

The naturally occurring radionuclide 210Po is useful as a tracer of diets of marine organisms. Data for 210Pb, the grandparent of 210Po, are less abundant: we therefore report here 210Pb concentrations in a substantial collection of marine biota obtained from the Antarctic Ocean during the SIBEX II cruise in 1985. The general levels of 210Pb are within the range of previously published data but, as in the case of 210Po, there are differences which can be associated with variations in the diet of the organism. The levels of 210Pb in the krill Euphausia superba show seasonal changes which can be interpreted in terms of changing diet. In a simple classification of the pelagic food chain, the levels of 210Pb tend to increase from omnivores to filter-feeders to predators.