137Cs/90Sr Ratios in the Irish Sea and Adjacent Waters: A Source term for the Arctic
The assessment of the water transport of coastal pollution from European nuclear reprocessing facilities to the Arctic Seas can be achieved by the analysis of conservative radionuclides, such as 90Sr, 137Cs and 99Tc. By obtaining their isotopic signatures in different water masses, it is possible to...
| Published in: | Radiation Protection Dosimetry |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
1998
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://rpd.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/75/1-4/207 https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.rpd.a032231 |
| Summary: | The assessment of the water transport of coastal pollution from European nuclear reprocessing facilities to the Arctic Seas can be achieved by the analysis of conservative radionuclides, such as 90Sr, 137Cs and 99Tc. By obtaining their isotopic signatures in different water masses, it is possible to determine the present contribution of these radionuclides by a known source term and to differentiate this from other inputs. However, in recent years, relatively few environmental measurements have been made of 90Sr resulting from the discharges by the British Nuclear Fuels plc plant at Sellafield, UK. In 1995, a collaborative expedition was carried out in the northern Irish Sea (and surrounding coastal waters) to determine 90Sr concentrations in surface sea water samples. The results of this survey, and an intercomparison of the analytical data are presented, together with 137Cs/90Sr activity ratios. Information concerning the isotopic signature in different water masses enables an assessment of the extent of transport of these radionuclides out of the Irish Sea and the potential source term to the Arctic that this represents. |
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