Pre- and post-Chernobyl accident levels of 129I and 137Cs in the Southern Baltic Sea by brown seaweed Fucus vesiculosus

Feasibility of 129I groundwater dating calibrated by both 81Kr and 4He for the assessment of deep geological repositories in Japan

Iodine-129, which is a promising tracer for dating old groundwater, has been used as a tracer for deep upwelling groundwater. The nuclide is expected to be one of the key factors for site selection for high-level radioactive waste disposal, which is a global societal issue. The pre-anthropogenic 129I/127I ratio for marine iodine is (1.50 ± 0.15) × 10-12, which could be considered the initial value for 129I dating. This study identifies the challenges in groundwater age dating using 129I/127I. We measured the ratios of 129I/127I and 81Kr/Kr and concentration of 4He in groundwater from boreholes on the northern coast of Japan. The 129I dating results were not coincident with the other groundwater dating results. The iodine in the groundwater was inferred to be released in situ from marine organisms in sediments of various ages. We estimated that the primordial iodine ratio originating from seawater was ~ 1 × 10-13 (8 × 10-14 ~ 2 × 10-13). The groundwater age deduced from the 129I/127I ratio using this value agrees with other groundwater dating results.

Distribution and source of (129)I, (239)(,240)Pu, (137)Cs in the environment of Lithuania

Fifty five soil samples collected in the Lithuania teritory in 2011 and 2012 were analyzed for (129)I, (137)Cs and Pu isotopes in order to investigate the level and distribution of artificial radioactivity in Lithuania. The activity and atomic ratio of (238)Pu/((239,24)0)Pu, (129)I/(127)I and (131)I/(137)Cs were used to identify the origin of these radionuclides. The (238)Pu/(239+240)Pu and (240)Pu/(239)Pu ratios in the soil samples analyzed varied in the range of 0.02-0.18 and 0.18-0.24, respectively, suggesting the global fallout as the major source of Pu in Lithuania. The values of 10(-9) to 10(-6) for (129)I/(127)I atomic ratio revealed that the source of (129)I in Lithuania is global fallout in most cases though several sampling sites shows a possible impact of reprocessing releases. Estimated (129)I/(131)I ratio in soil samples from the southern part of Lithuania shows negligible input of the Chernobyl fallout. No correlation of the (137)Cs and Pu isotopes with (129)I was observed, indicating their different sources terms. Results demonstrate uneven distribution of these radionuclides in the Lithuanian territory and several sources of contamination i.e. Chernobyl accident, reprocessing releases and global fallout.

Influence of releases of (129)I and (137)Cs from European reprocessing facilities in Fucus vesiculosus and seawater from the Kattegat and Skagerrak areas

(129)I is a very long-lived radionuclide (T1/2=15.7×10(6) years) that is present in the environment because of natural and anthropogenic sources. Compared to the pre-nuclear era, large amounts of (129)I have been released to the marine environment, especially as liquid and gaseous discharges from two European reprocessing facilities located at Sellafield (England) and La Hague (France). The marine environment, i.e., the oceans, is the major source of iodine. Brown seaweed accumulates iodine at high levels up to 1.0% of dry weigh, and therefore they are ideal bioindicators for studying levels of (129)I. In this work, (129)I concentrations have been determined in seaweed Fucus vesiculosus and seawater collected in the Kattegat and Skagerrak areas in July 2007. The resulting data were evaluated in terms of (129)I concentrations and (129)I/(137)Cs ratios. (129)I concentrations were found to be in the order of (44-575)×10(9) atoms g(-1) in seaweed and (5.4-51)×10(9) atoms g(-1) in seawater, with an enhancement in the Skagerrak area in comparison to the Kattegat area. Iodine-129 concentrations in both seaweed and seawater were used to determine the concentration factor of iodine in brown seaweed F. vesiculosus. The high levels of (129)I and (129)I/(137)Cs ratios in the Skagerrak area and their gradually decreasing trend to the Kattegat indicates that the most important contribution to the (129)I inventory in those areas comes from Sellafield and La Hague reprocessing plants.

Influence of lake trophic structure on iodine-131 accumulation and subsequent cumulative radiation dose to trout thyroids

Iodine-131 is a major component of the atmospheric releases following reactor accidents, and the passage of (131)I through food chains from grass to human thyroids has been extensively studied. By comparison, the fate and effects of (131)I deposition onto lakes and other aquatic systems have been less studied. In this study we: (1) reanalyze 1960s data from experimental releases of (131)I into two small lakes; (2) compare the effects of differences in lake trophic structures on the accumulation of (131)I by fish; (3) relate concentrations in fish and fish tissues to that in the water column using empirically estimated uptake (L kg(-1) d(-1)) and loss (d(-1)) parameters; and (4) show that the largest concentrations in the thyroids of trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) may occur from 8 to 32 days after initial release. Iodine-131 concentration in trout thyroids at 30-days post release may be >1000 times that in the water. Estimates of cumulative radiation dose (mGy) to thyroids computed using an anatomically-appropriate model of trout thyroid structure within the Monte Carlo N-particle modeling software predicted cumulative thyroid doses that increased approximately linearly after the first 8 days and resulted in 32-day cumulative thyroid doses that ranged from 6 mGy g(-1) to 18 mGy g(-1) per 1 Bq mL(-1) of initial (131)I in the water depending upon fish size. The majority of this dose is due to beta emissions, and the dose varies with positions in the thyroid tissue.

Model simulation of inflow water to the Baltic Sea based on ¹²⁹I

The semi-enclosed Baltic Sea represents a vital economic and recreational resource for more than 90 million people inhabiting its coasts. Extensive contamination of this sea by a variety of anthropogenic pollutants has raised the concern of the people in the region. Quantifying seawater inflow is crucial for estimating potential environmental risks as well as to find the best remedial strategy. We present here a model to estimate water inflow from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea by utilizing ¹²⁹I as a tracer. The results predicted inflow range of 230-450 km³/y with best fit value around 330 km³/y from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea during 1980-1999. Despite limited time series data on ¹²⁹I, the model presented here demonstrates a new management tool for the Baltic Sea to calculate inflow water compared to conventional methods (such as salinity, temperature and hydrographic models).