Temporal variation of cesium isotope concentrations and atom ratios in zooplankton in the Pacific off the east coast of Japan.

ABSTRACT: After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011, concentrations of cesium isotopes (133Cs, 134Cs, and 137Cs) were measured in zooplankton collected in the Pacific off the east coast of Japan from May 2012 to February 2015. The time series of the data exhibited sporadic 137Cs concentration peaks in zooplankton. In addition, the atom ratio of 137Cs/133Cs in zooplankton was consistently high compared to that in ambient seawater throughout the sampling period. These phenomena cannot be explained fully by the bioaccumulation of 137Cs in zooplankton via ambient seawater intake, the inclusion of resuspended sediment in the plankton sample, or the taxonomic composition of the plankton. Autoradiography revealed highly radioactive particles within zooplankton samples, which could be the main factor underlying the sporadic appearance of high 137Cs concentrations in zooplankton as well as the higher ratio of 137Cs/133Cs in zooplankton than in seawater.

SUBMITTER: Ikenoue T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5209667 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature