Controls on anthropogenic radionuclide distribution in the Sellafield-impacted Eastern Irish Sea

Ray, Daisy; Leary, Peter; Livens, Francis R.; Gray, Neil; Morris, Katherine; Law, Kathleen; Fuller, Adam J.; Abrahamsen-Mills, Liam; Howe, John; Tierney, Kieran M.; Muir, Graham K.P.; Law, Gareth T. W.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140765

Cited by 12 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…The Irish Sea is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain and is linked to the sea of the west coast of Scotland in the north by the North Channel, engulfing numerous estuaries with great biodiversity. However, it is considered to be one of most radioactively contaminated seas in the world with high amounts of nuclear waste, like 137 Cs, Pu, and 241 Am, discharged daily into it from the Sellafield nuclear site (Ray et al, 2020). This discharge contaminates seawater, sediments and marine life, and several EwE models were developed to address these issues (Tierney et al, 2018;Bentley et al, 2019a;Bentley et al, 2019b;Bentley et al, 2019c;Bentley et al, 2020).…”

Section: English Channel Irish Sea and West Scottish Seamentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecotrophic perspective in fisheries management: a review of Ecopath with Ecosim models in European marine ecosystems

et al. 2023

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The aim of this work is to present the food web models developed using the Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) software tool to describe structure and functioning of various European marine ecosystems (eastern, central and western Mediterranean Sea; Black Sea; Bay of Biscay, Celtic Sea and Iberian coast; Baltic Sea; North Sea; English Channel, Irish Sea and west Scottish Sea; and Norwegian and Barents Seas). A total of 195 Ecopath models based on 168 scientific publications, which report original, updated and modified versions, were reviewed. Seventy models included Ecosim temporal simulations while 28 implemented Ecospace spatiotemporal dynamics. Most of the models and publications referred to the western Mediterranean Sea followed by the English Channel, Irish Sea and west Scottish Sea sub-regions. In the Mediterranean Sea, the western region had the largest number of models and publications, followed by the central and eastern regions; similar trends were observed in previous literature reviews. Most models addressed ecosystem functioning and fisheries-related hypotheses while several investigated the impact of climate change, the presence of alien species, aquaculture, chemical pollution, infrastructure, and energy production. Model complexity (i.e., number of functional groups) increased over time. Main forcing factors considered to run spatial and temporal simulations were trophic interactions, fishery, and primary production. Average scores of ecosystem indicators derived from the Ecopath summary statistics were compared. Uncertainty was also investigated based on the use of the Ecosampler plug-in and the Monte Carlo routine; only one third of the reviewed publications incorporated uncertainty analysis. Only a limited number of the models included the use of the ECOIND plug-in which provides the user with quantitative output of ecological indicators. We assert that the EwE modelling approach is a successful tool which provides a quantitative framework to analyse the structure and dynamics of ecosystems, and to evaluate the potential impacts of different management scenarios.

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Section: English Channel Irish Sea and West Scottish Seamentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecotrophic perspective in fisheries management: a review of Ecopath with Ecosim models in European marine ecosystems

et al. 2023

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“…Uranium (U) present in wastewaters produced via its mining, processing, and use in the nuclear fuel cycle is a significant environmental concern , with a range of potential ecotoxicological effects identified. , This includes the presence of U in the remediation of contaminated solutes produced during various processes associated with the nuclear fuel cycle, including U-mining, effluents from spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, nuclear fuel storage facilities, , U enrichment sites that are subject to decommissioning, , or cleanup procedures following the nuclear accidents. , To address these challenges, and especially when other radionuclides including transuranics such as plutonium and americium isotopes, and fission products including 90 Sr and 137 Cs may also be present, several studies have investigated U capture using various materials − including layered double hydroxides (LDHs) formed in situ − or prefabricated LDHs as adsorbents. ,− …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction between Uranyl Cations and Layered Double Hydroxide Nanoparticles: Implications for Nuclear Wastewater Management

Péter,

Takács,

Sáringer

et al. 2024

ACS EST Water

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Effective uranium (U) capture is required for the remediation of contaminated solutes associated with the nuclear fuel cycle, including fuel reprocessing effluents, decommissioning, or nuclear accident cleanup. Here, interactions between uranyl cations (UO 2 2+ ) and a Mg−Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) were investigated using two types of uranyl-bearing LDH colloids. The first (ULDH) was synthesized by coprecipitation with 10% of Mg 2+ substituted by UO 2 2+ . Alternatively, UO 2 2+ was added to a neoformed LDH to obtain the second uranyl-bearing LDH colloid (LDHU). In both the LDHU and ULDH colloid systems, schoepite (UO 2 ) 8 O 2 (OH) 12 •12H 2 O, was formed. The presence of U significantly reduced the size of both LDHU and ULDH compared to a reference LDH colloid. Surface charge and aggregation of the ULDH and LDHU colloids were compared in NaCl, Na 2 CO 3 , Na 2 SiO 3 , and Na 3 PO 4 solutions that are often present in nuclear wastewaters. Aggregation of ULDH and LDHU in the presence of Na 2 SiO 3 or Na 3 PO 4 promotes colloid restabilization. While the uranyl cation was not incorporated into the LDH structure, it influences nanoparticle growth in addition to imparting modified surface properties that affect aggregation. This has implications for radioactive waste disposals, where LDH, which can also incorporate a variety of other radionuclides, is used for remediation.

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2022

Marine Radioecology

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Controls on anthropogenic radionuclide distribution in the Sellafield-impacted Eastern Irish Sea

Cited by 12 publications

References 70 publications

Ecotrophic perspective in fisheries management: a review of Ecopath with Ecosim models in European marine ecosystems

Ecotrophic perspective in fisheries management: a review of Ecopath with Ecosim models in European marine ecosystems

Interaction between Uranyl Cations and Layered Double Hydroxide Nanoparticles: Implications for Nuclear Wastewater Management

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