Dataset Information

Concentration of strontium-90 at selected hot spots in Japan.

ABSTRACT: This study is dedicated to the environmental monitoring of radionuclides released in the course of the Fukushima nuclear accident. The activity concentrations of ?(-)-emitting (90)Sr and ?(-)/?-emitting (134)Cs and (137)Cs from several hot spots in Japan were determined in soil and vegetation samples. The (90)Sr contamination levels of the samples were relatively low and did not exceed the Bq?g(-1) range. They were up four orders of magnitude lower than the respective (137)Cs levels. This study, therefore, experimentally confirms previous predictions indicating a low release of (90)Sr from the Fukushima reactors, due to its low volatility. The radiocesium contamination could be clearly attributed to the Fukushima nuclear accident via its activity ratio fingerprint ((134)Cs/(137)Cs). Although the correlation between (90)Sr and (137)Cs is relatively weak, the data set suggests an intrinsic coexistence of both radionuclides in the contaminations caused by the Fukushima nuclear accident. This observation is of great importance not only for remediation campaigns but also for the current food monitoring campaigns, which currently rely on the assumption that the activity concentrations of ?(-)-emitting (90)Sr (which is relatively laborious to determine) is not higher than 10% of the level of ?-emitting (137)Cs (which can be measured quickly). This assumption could be confirmed for the samples investigated herein.

SUBMITTER: Steinhauser G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3591386 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Concentration of strontium-90 at selected hot spots in Japan.

Steinhauser Georg G Schauer Viktoria V Shozugawa Katsumi K

PloS one 20130307 3

This study is dedicated to the environmental monitoring of radionuclides released in the course of the Fukushima nuclear accident. The activity concentrations of β(-)-emitting (90)Sr and β(-)/γ-emitting (134)Cs and (137)Cs from several hot spots in Japan were determined in soil and vegetation samples. The (90)Sr contamination levels of the samples were relatively low and did not exceed the Bq⋅g(-1) range. They were up four orders of magnitude lower than the respective (137)Cs levels. This study, ...[more]

PMID: 23505440

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Project description:BackgroundQuahog Parasite Unknown (QPX) is an opportunistic protistan pathogen of the clam Mercenaria mercenaria. Infections with QPX have caused significant economic losses in the Northeastern United States. Previous research demonstrated a geographic gradient for disease prevalence and intensity, but little information is available on the genetic diversity of the parasite throughout its distribution range. Also, QPX virulence factors are not well understood. This study addresses the occurrence of QPX genetic variants with a particular focus on functions involved in virulence and adaptation to environmental conditions.ResultsAnalyses were performed using transcriptome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of four QPX isolates cultured from infected clams collected from disparate locations along the Northeastern United States. For contig assembly and mapping, two different genome builds and four transcriptomes of the parasite were examined. Genomic variants appeared at a differential rate relative to sequenced transcripts at 20.18 and 22.55% occurrence under 1000 base pairs upstream and downstream protein domains respectively and at 57.26% rate in protein domain coding sequences. QPX strains shared 30.50% of the mutations and exhibited a preferential nucleotide substitution towards thymine. Sequence identity suggested relatedness between different QPX strains, with the parasite being possibly introduced to Virginia from the Massachusetts region during clam trading, while QPX could have been naturally present in New York. Diversity in virulence, temperature, and salinity domains suggested a common variability between strains, but with a preferential higher variation in local adaptation genes. This could explain differences in disease prevalence noted in different regions. Overall, the results supported views that this opportunistic parasite might be able to adapt to varying environmental conditions.ConclusionRelatedness and mutations between the four QPX strains suggested that variability in environmental-related functions favors parasite survival, potentially promoting resilience against stressful conditions. These findings are in agreement with the widespread presence of QPX in the environment. Although QPX levels are enzootic in most areas, an increase in disease outbreaks were often associated with seasonal changes in environmental conditions. A selection mediated by the parasitic life of QPX remains possible, but the effect of the environment on the biology of the parasite appears more obvious.

Dataset Information

Concentration of strontium-90 at selected hot spots in Japan.

Publications

Concentration of strontium-90 at selected hot spots in Japan.

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