Bioaccumulation of 137Cs in pelagic food webs in the Norwegian and Barents Seas

Heldal, Hilde Elise; Føyn, Lars; Varskog, Per

doi:10.1016/s0265-931x(02)00095-4

Cited by 46 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…A number of studies have shown that 137 Cs biomagnifies through marine food chains (e.g., Calmet et al, 1992;Kasamatsu and Ishikawa, 1997;Watson et al, 1999;Heldal et al, 2003). More recently, Brown et al (2004), utilising a biokinetic modelling approach to the trophic transfer of 137 Cs in marine food chains, demonstrated biomagnification at lower trophic levels but not to the highest level, which was represented by the harp seal in their study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Additionally, the tendency for Arctic marine food chains to be dependent on benthic and sea ice associated systems provides an efficient mechanism for the biomagnification of contaminants, while the longevity of marine mammals in these food chains allows for the potential accumulation of contaminants over long periods of time in these top consumers. Certain marine biota exhibit high uptake rates of radionuclides (e.g., Pentreath et al, 1982;Aarkrog et al, 1997;Brown et al, 1999), while radiocaesium ( 137 Cs) has been shown to biomagnify through marine food chains and therefore be found in high concentrations in marine mammals (Calmet et al, 1992;Kasamatsu and Ishikawa, 1997;Watson et al, 1999;Heldal et al, 2003). Together, these observations may have important consequences for Arctic marine ecosystems if significant levels of contamination occur.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Radiocaesium (137Cs) in marine mammals from Svalbard, the Barents Sea and the North Greenland Sea

Andersen

Gwynn

Dowdall

et al. 2006

Science of The Total Environment

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Specific activities of the anthropogenic radionuclide, 137 Cs, were determined in marine mammals from Svalbard and the Barents and North Greenland Seas. Muscle samples were collected from 12 polar bears, 15 ringed seals, 10 hooded seals, 7 bearded seals, 14 harp seals, one walrus, one white whale and one blue whale in the period 2000-2003. The mean concentrations (F SD) of 137 Cs were: 0.72 F 0.62 Bq/kg wet weight (w.w.) for polar bears; 0.49 F 0.07 Bq/kg w.w. for ringed seals; 0.25 F 0.10 Bq/kg w.w. for hooded seals; 0.22 F 0.11 Bq/kg w.w. for bearded seals; 0.36 F 0.13 Bq/kg w.w. for harp seals; 0.67 Bq/kg w.w. for the white whale sample; 0.24 Bq/kg w.w. for the blue whale; and below detection limit for the walrus. Significant differences in 137 Cs specific activities between some of the species were found. Ringed seals had higher specific activities than the other seal species in the study. Bearded seals and hooded seals had similar values, which were both significantly lower than the harp seal values.The results in the present study are consistent with previous reported results, indicating low specific activities of 137 Cs in Arctic marine mammals in the Barents Sea and Greenland Sea region during the last 20 years. The species specific differences found may be explained by varying diet or movement and distribution patterns between species. No age related patterns were found in specific activities for the two species (polar bears and hooded seals) for which sufficient data was available.Concentration factors (CF) of 137 Cs from seawater were determined for polar bears, ringed, bearded, harp and hooded seals. Mean CF values ranged from 79 F 32 (SD) for bearded seals sampled in 2002 to 244 F 36 (SD) for ringed seals sampled in 2003 these CF values are higher than those reported for fish and benthic organisms in the literature, suggesting bioaccumulation of 137 Cs in the marine ecosystem. D

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiocaesium (137Cs) in marine mammals from Svalbard, the Barents Sea and the North Greenland Sea

Andersen

Gwynn

Dowdall

et al. 2006

Science of The Total Environment

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“…We also examined whether other several biological factors influenced radiocesium activity concentrations in bulk zooplankton communities. Because the concentration ratio of radiocesium in biota is species specific and higher stable or radiocesium concentrations were observed from animals in higher trophic levels (Heldal et al, 2003; Lalli and Persons (1997) and Ohtsuka and Nishida (1997). Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The radionuclides emitted from FNPP1 were also detected from terrestrial biota not only in Japan (e.g., Hashimoto et al, 2012;Higaki et al, 2012;Tagami et al, 2012) but also in North America (Thakur et al, 2012) and Europe Pittauerova et al, 2011). As compared with the terrestrial research, however, studies on the influences of the FNPP1 accident to marine biota have been scarce.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To discuss the ecological impact of radionuclide contamination on marine biota, detailed information on what kind of species the community included would be needed. In addition, taxonomic compositions of the community possibly affect radionuclide activity concentration in bulk communities because the activity concentration ratio is species specific and related to trophic level (Heldal et al, 2003). So, we describe the detailed community structures of zooplankton contaminated with the Fukushima-derived radiocesium and examine whether characters of taxonomic composition in communities influenced radionuclide activity concentrations in bulk communities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Horizontal distribution of Fukushima-derived radiocesium in zooplankton in the northwestern Pacific Ocean

et al. 2013

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The magnitude of the 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and the ensuing tsunami on 11 March 2011, inflicted heavy damage on the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant (FNPP1). Fission products were emitted, falling over a broad range in the Northern Hemisphere, and water contaminated with radionuclides leaked into the ocean. In this study, we described the horizontal distribution of the Fukushima-derived radiocesium in zooplankton and in seawater in the western North Pacific Ocean (500–2100 km from the FNPP1) 10 months after the accident. ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs were detected in zooplankton and seawater from all the stations. Because of its short half-life, the ¹³⁴Cs detected in our samples could only be derived from the FNPP1 accident. The highest ¹³⁷Cs activity in zooplankton was the same order of magnitude as it was one month after the accident, and average activity was one or two orders of magnitude higher than ¹³⁷Cs activities observed before the accident around Japan. Horizontally, the radiocesium activity concentrations in zooplankton were high at around 25° N while those in surface seawater were high at around the transition area between the Kuroshio and the Oyashio currents (36–40° N). We observed subsurface radiocesium maxima in density range of the North Pacific Subtropical Mode Water and the occurrence of many diel vertical migratory zooplankton. These suggested that the high activity concentrations in the subtropical zooplankton at around 25° N were connected to the subsurface radiocesium and active vertical migration of zooplankton. However, the high activity concentrations of radiocesium in subsurface seawater did not necessarily correlate with the higher radiocesium activity in zooplankton. Activity concentrations of radiocesium in zooplankton might be influenced not only by the environmental radiocesium activity concentrations but also by other factors, which are still unknown

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RETRACTED ARTICLE: Biomonitoring fallout 137Cs in resident and migratory fishes collected along the southern coast of India and assessment of dose

Khan¹,

Wesley²

2011

Environ Monit Assess

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The globally distributed fallout radionuclide (137)Cs was monitored in 25 resident and 22 migratory fish species collected from some regions of west and east coast of southern India to establish a baseline data. The samples were collected during June 2008 to June 2009. Higher level of (137)Cs was noted in planktivorous fishes and lower level in herbivores. A significant variation in (137)Cs was observed between fishes with different feeding habits and different migratory pattern. Oceanodromic migratory fishes displayed higher cesium levels than other migratory types. Similarly, migratory fishes displayed higher (137)Cs concentration compared to resident fishes. The overall range of (137)Cs varied from 0.06 to 0.3 Bq/kg in fishes. The biological concentration varied from 55 to 250. The average external dose rate to fishes was calculated to be 2.7 × 10(-7) μGy/h, while the internal dose rate varied from 8.50 × 10(-6) to 5.27 × 10(-5) μGy/h. The hazard quotient for fishes was found to be less than 1. The average intake of (137)Cs via fishes to the public was calculated to be 3.5 Bq/year and subsequently the committed effective dose was 0.05 μSv/year. The data obtained were less than global average and comparable to those of many regions.

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Bioaccumulation of 137Cs in pelagic food webs in the Norwegian and Barents Seas

Cited by 46 publications

References 18 publications

Radiocaesium (137Cs) in marine mammals from Svalbard, the Barents Sea and the North Greenland Sea

Radiocaesium (137Cs) in marine mammals from Svalbard, the Barents Sea and the North Greenland Sea

Horizontal distribution of Fukushima-derived radiocesium in zooplankton in the northwestern Pacific Ocean

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Biomonitoring fallout 137Cs in resident and migratory fishes collected along the southern coast of India and assessment of dose

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