Issue 5, 2010
From the journal:

Journal of Environmental Monitoring

Temporal variations of 90Sr and 137Cs concentrations and the 137Cs/90Sr activity ratio in marine brown algae, Undaria pinnatifida and Laminaria longissima, collected in coastal areas of Japan

Takami Morita,*a   Ken Fujimoto,a   Hiromi Kasai,b   Haruya Yamadac  and  Kou Nishiuchid  

* Corresponding authors

a Marine Productivity Division, National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, Fisheries Research Agency, Fukuura 2-12-4, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan
E-mail: takam@affrc.go.jp
Fax: +81-45-788-7654
Tel: +81-45-788-7654

b Subarctic Fisheries Oceanography Division, Hokkaido National Fisheries Research Institute, Fisheries Research Agency, Japan

c Japan sea Fisheries Oceanography Division, Japan Sea National Fisheries Research Institute, Fisheries Research Agency, Japan

d East China Sea Fisheries Oceanography Division, Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute, Fisheries Research Agency, Japan

Abstract

The anthropogenic radionuclides, 90Sr and 137Cs, were measured in two marine algal species, wakame seaweed (Undaria pinnatifida) and edible kelp (Laminaria longissima), collected in four coastal areas of Japan during 1998–2008. Although 90Sr and 137Cs could be detected at all sampling sites, the concentrations of 90Sr and 137Cs were at low levels and those in some samples were below the detection limit. These low concentrations and the small variation of both concentrations and the 137Cs/90Sr activity ratio indicate that the source of 90Sr and 137Cs detected in this study originated from the global fallout deposition following atmospheric nuclear-bomb tests in the past. There were no significant differences in both concentrations of 90Sr and 137Cs in wakame seaweed among three sampling sites. Although wakame seaweed is extensively distributed in southern and central Japan, it does not occur in northern areas and so edible kelp was monitored. The concentrations of 90Sr and 137Cs in edible kelp were significantly different from those in wakame seaweed in some sampling sites. These differences could be due to the difference in the concentrations of 90Sr and 137Cs in the surrounding seawater or the difference in species. The combined data with data from the previous report and the preexisting database showed that wakame seaweed incorporated 137Cs through a different pathway from that of 90Sr. The combined data also suggested that wakame seaweed responded differently to the source of 137Cs.

Graphical abstract: Temporal variations of 90Sr and 137Cs concentrations and the 137Cs/90Sr activity ratio in marine brown algae, Undaria pinnatifida and Laminaria longissima, collected in coastal areas of Japan

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/B920173D
Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 Sep 2009
Accepted
01 Feb 2010
First published
10 Mar 2010

J. Environ. Monit., 2010,12, 1179-1186

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Temporal variations of 90Sr and 137Cs concentrations and the 137Cs/90Sr activity ratio in marine brown algae, Undaria pinnatifida and Laminaria longissima, collected in coastal areas of Japan

T. Morita, K. Fujimoto, H. Kasai, H. Yamada and K. Nishiuchi, J. Environ. Monit., 2010, 12, 1179 DOI: 10.1039/B920173D

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