Wong Km

Past and present levels of some radionuclides in fish from Bikini and Enewetak atolls

Bikini and Enewetak were the sites in the Northern Marshall Islands that were used by the United States as testing grounds for nuclear devices between 1946 and 1958. The testing produced close-in fallout debris that was contaminated with different radionuclides and which entered the aquatic environment. The contaminated lagoon sediments became a reservoir and source term of manmade radionuclides for the resident marine organisms. This report contains a summary of all the available data on the concentrations of 137Cs, 60Co and 207Bi in flesh samples of reef and pelagic fish collected from Bikini and Enewetak Atolls between 1964 and 1995. The selection of these three radionuclides for discussion is based on the fact that these are the only radionuclides that have been routinely detected by gamma spectrometry in flesh samples from all fish for the last 20 y. Flesh from fish is an important source of food in the Marshallese diet. These radionuclides along with the transuranic radionuclides and 90Sr contribute most of the small radiological dose from ingesting marine foods. Some basic relationships among concentrations in different tissues and organs are discussed. The reef fish can be used as indicator species because their body burden is derived from feeding, over a lifetime, within a relatively small contaminated area of the lagoon. Therefore, the emphasis of this report is to use this extensive and unique concentration data base to describe the effective half lives and cycling for the radionuclides in the marine environments during the 31-y period between 1964 and 1995. The results from an analysis of the radionuclide concentrations in the flesh samples indicate the removal rates for the 3 radionuclides are significantly different. 137Cs is removed from the lagoons with an effective half life of 9-12 y. Little 60Co is mobilized to the water column so that it is depleted in both environments, primarily through radioactive decay. The properties of 207Bi are different at Enewetak and Bikini. At Enewetak the radionuclide is lost from the environment with an effective half live of 5.1 y. At Bikini only radioactive decay can account for the rate at which the radionuclide is lost from the lagoon. The difference in the binding properties of the sedimentary materials for 207Bi among the two Atolls is not understood.

The Northern Marshall Islands radiological survey: Data and dose assessments

Fallout from atmospheric nuclear tests, especially from those conducted at the Pacific Proving Grounds between 1946 and 1958, contaminated areas of the Northern Marshall Islands. A radiological survey at some Northern Marshall Islands was conducted from September through November 1978 to evaluate the extent of residual radioactive contamination. The atolls included in the Northern Marshall Islands Radiological Survey (NMIRS) were Likiep, Ailuk, Utirik, Wotho, Ujelang, Taka, Rongelap, Rongerik, Bikar, Ailinginae, and Mejit and Jemo Islands. The original test sites, Bikini and Enewetak Atolls, were also visited on the survey. An aerial survey was conducted to determine the external gamma exposure rate. Terrestrial (soil, food crops, animals, and native vegetation), cistern and well water samples, and marine (sediment, seawater, fish and clams) samples were collected to evaluate radionuclide concentrations in the atoll environment. Samples were processed and analyzed for 137Cs, 90Sr, 239+240Pu and 241Am. The dose from the ingestion pathway was calculated using the radionuclide concentration data and a diet model for local food, marine, and water consumption. The ingestion pathway contributes 70% to 90% of the estimated dose. Approximately 95% of the dose is from 137Cs. 90Sr is the second most significant radionuclide via ingestion. External gamma exposure from 137Cs accounts for about 10% to 30% of the dose. 239+240Pu and 241Am are the major contributors to dose via the inhalation pathway; however, inhalation accounts for only about 1% of the total estimated dose, based on surface soil levels and resuspension studies. All doses are computed for concentrations decay corrected to 1996. The maximum annual effective dose from manmade radionuclides at these atolls ranges from .02 mSv y(-1) to 2.1 mSv y(-1). The background dose in the Marshall Islands is estimated to be 2.4 mSv y(-1). The combined dose from both background and bomb related radionuclides ranges from slightly over 2.4 mSv y(-1) to 4.5 mSv y(-1). The 50-y integral dose ranges from 0.5 to 65 mSv.

Radionuclide concentrations, fluxes, and residence times at Santa Monica and San Pedro Basins

Our participation in the California Basin Study (CaBS) in 1986–1988 has produced a radionuclide data base that allows us to trace the particle and water movement in the Santa Monica and the San Pedro Basins. These data enable us to calculate the radionuclide inventories in the three compartments of the basin, the water column, the settling particles, and the sediments. We have also determined the fluxes of several radionuclides associated with the sinking particles, the residence time in the water column, and the rate of deposition in the sediments. The biogeochemical environment of the Santa Monica Basin is uniquely suited to the application of tracer techniques to study the sedimentation processes. Subtle, but measurable changes in the distribution of fallout of 137Cs from 1977 to 1988 were noted in the water column. Compared to the decay corrected measurement in 1973–1977 at the GEOSECS and Farallon Islands stations off the coast of California, 137Cs inventory in the water column in Santa Monica Basin has not changed significantly for the past decade. Increases in the deep water concentration profiles of 137Cs particle transport and diagenetic release of cesium in the deep water. The major 137Cs inventory (>70%) resides in the upper 400m of water, with a mean residence time of 480 ± 90 years. Less than 11% of the total 137Cs inventory was found in the sediments at water depths of 900m in 1987. Unlike 137Cs, more than 80% of the fallout 239+240Pu has been deposited in the Santa Monica Basin sediments. A mean residence time of 13 ± 2 years was measured for 239+240Pu in the basin water. The ubiquitous 239+240Pu subsurface concentration maximum observed in the Pacific oceanic waters at about 350m depth is also evident in the basin water. We have no definitive explanation for the persistence of the subsurface maximum except that it appears to be correlated with the density gradient at 26.5 to 26.9 sigma-t. The 239+240Pu flux for settling particles correlates remarkably well with mass flux, and it increases with depth in the water column. Plutonium deposition in anoxic sediments also appears to be useful as a time marker for age-dating of sediments and estimating the sediment-accumulation rates. The sedimentation rates determined by plutonium are shown to be comparable to those estimated by excess 210Pb in the cores. Radionuclide fluxes measured from sediment trap particles in 1986–1988 were lower by a factor of 0.6 ± 0.2, compared to the average fluxes determined from the box core samples. Radionuclides, such as 210Pb, 137Cs, and 239+240Pu have been shown to be useful tools in the study of biogeochemical processes in the Santa Monica Basin.

Concentration of 210Po and 210Pb in the diet at the Marshall Islands

The concentrations of 210Po and 210Pb have been determined in many local foods consumed by societies residing on different atolls in the Marshall Islands. The average daily intake of these two naturally occurring radionuclides from local and imported food is estimated to be 2.18 and 0.36 Bq, respectively. Local foods contribute 87% of the 210Po and 47% of the 210Pb associated with the diet. The items contributing the majority of the activity to the diet are derived from the marine environment and include parts of fish, invertebrates, seabirds and eggs of seabirds. The committed effective dose from ingestion of 210Po and 210Pb is approximately 2 mSv/year (200 mrem/year). This pathway now contributes 83% of the natural background irradiation received by residents in the Marshall Islands. Because the naturally occurring radionuclides are omnipresent in terrestrial and marine foods at all atolls, the annual intake and computed dose can be considered as typical values for individuals with comparable diets and inhabiting other islands in the Pacific.

Fallout nuclides in Atlantic and Pacific water columns : GEOSECS data

Funding was provided by the United States Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC02-EV03563.

Plutonium Concentrations in Fish and Seawater From Kwajalein Atoll

A follow-up study has been made to assess the concentrations of z3y+24’Pu and Cs in the marine environment of Kwajalein Atoll. Fish collected from the atoll in 1972 had body burdens of plutonium that were substantially higher than concentrations in similar species from locations contaminated only with global fallout. Our recent results, however, indicated that Kwajalein lagoon seawater contained levels of plutonium more similar to global fallout levels found in north equatorial Pacific surface waters. N o satisfactory explanation for the reported plutonium levels in fish from Kwajalein collected in 1972 could be deduced from the available data. The highest plutonium concentrations reported for the 1972 reef species of fish could expose man, through ingestion of marine foods, to a dose rate as high as 25% of the proposed EPA guideline for annual total transuranic dose rate to bone (3 mrad/yr over 70 yr). Our present results show the dose rate from the marine food pathway is nearer to 0.005% of the recommended EPA value and is consistent with the view that Kwajalein Atoll contains plutonium concentrations that are expected from global fallout. The magnitude of the plutonium levels reported in fish collected from Kwajalein lagoon during 1972 was excessively high. and these results appear to be inconsistent with other environmental data from the lagoon. Our results also show that concentration factors for plutonium in fish muscle and bone tissues appear to be independent of species, trophic level and location, which leads us to believe that there is a great deal of validity in the concept of a concentration factor for estimating concentrations of plutonium in fish. I37