Elsevier

Environment International

Volume 126, May 2019, Pages 216-221
Environment International

Radiocesium (137Cs) accumulation by fish within a legacy reactor cooling canal system on the Savannah River Site

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.02.039Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Fish in the shallow canals and ponds of a reactor cooling system were assayed for legacy 137Cs > 50 years post-release.

  • All fish monitored within the cooling system had measurable levels of 137Cs.

  • Fish in the canal closest to the reactor, which received reactor effluent for a longer period, had the highest 137Cs levels.

  • There was no support for biomagnification or size effects for 137Cs accumulation, likely due to a narrow range of fish sizes.

Abstract

The aquatic cooling canal system associated with a nuclear reactor built in the early 1950s received accidental releases of radiocesium (137Cs) from the reactor between 1954 and 1964, resulting in the dispersion of ~8.2 × 1012 Bq of 137Cs into the associated canals and ponds. The primary purpose of this study was to document concentrations of 137Cs in littoral zone fish currently occupying components of the cooling canal system, 3 canals and 2 impoundments, to determine how concentrations varied among these various components. Secondarily, we examined for potential influence of weirs within the canal system on concentrations in fish as well as the potential relationship between fish species and body size and on 137Cs concentrations in fish. We collected samples of sediment, biofilm, and fish from each component of the R-Reactor cooling system and compared 137Cs among sites and species in individual sites. Concentrations of 137Cs in sediments, biofilms and mosquitofish varied significantly among sampling areas with higher concentrations in RCAN1, a canal segment that was the closest to the reactor and received reactor effluent for a longer period than other components. Comparisons among other components of the cooling system, and species comparisons relative to presumed trophic positions and fish length were not consistent. However, littoral zone fish in the cooling canal system continue to bioaccumulate 137Cs >50 years after the original releases of contamination.

Keywords

137Cs
Radiocesium
Fish
Reactor cooling canals
Bioaccumulation

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