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535500 
Journal Article 
Laboratory and field studies of polonium and plutonium in marine plankton 
Wilson, RC; Watts, SJ; Batlle, JVI; McDonald, P 
2009 
Yes 
Journal of Environmental Radioactivity
ISSN: 0265-931X
EISSN: 1879-1700 
100 
8 
665-669 
English 
Uptake experiments were successfully undertaken for polonium and plutonium in the marine diatom Skeletonema costatum. Experiments were complemented with a field study which yielded concentration factors for these radionuclides for plankton samples collected in the eastern Irish Sea. The uptake experiment produced uptake half times of 0.8 and 0.6 days for plutonium and polonium, respectively. Concentration factors of 3.1 x 10(5) l kg(-1) for plutonium and 2.4 x 10(5) l kg(-1) for polonium were consistent with those suggested by the IAEA for phytoplankton. Concentration factors derived from the field study were 2 x 10(3) l kg(-1) for plutonium and 1.4 x 10(4) l kg(-1) for polonium and were more consistent with IAEA values for zooplankton rather than phytoplankton. The maximum calculated dose rate due to Po and Pu in plankton sampled in the field was 0.12 mu Gy h(-1). In applying the laboratory-derived phytoplankton CF values for Po and Pu, higher dose rates, in the range 6-11 mu Gy h(-1), were calculated. The latter values are well below the UNSCEAR and IAEA review value of 400 mu Gy h(-1), and are also below the Environment Agency marine action level of 40 mu Gy h(-1). (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 
Polonium; Plutonium; Plankton; Uptake; Skeletonema costatum; Uptake; half-times; Concentration factor; irish sea sediments; po-210; pb-210