Dataset Information

Distribution and budget of 137Cs in the China Seas.

ABSTRACT: Cesium-137 is one of the most abundant anthropogenic radionuclides released by atmospheric nuclear testing and nuclear accidents, and accordingly it may significantly impact the health of humans and marine environmental eco-systems. Documenting the distribution and inventory of 137Cs is thus a crucial task. In this study, we collected a large number of datasets with field observations of 137Cs in the China Seas, in order to provide an in-depth understanding of 137Cs budgets and distributions. The activity and inventory of 137Cs in China Seas' sediments showed large spatial variations, related to the 137Cs source, sedimentation rates and the mineral composition of sediments. The 137Cs concentration in sediments decreased with distance from the shore, generally tracing the distribution of sedimentation rates. High 137Cs inventories in the water column indicated a high solubility and long mean residence times. The mean residence times of 137Cs in the China Seas were determined to be 45.6?±?3.8 years for the South China Sea (SCS), 36.8?±?3.1 years for the East China Sea (ECS), and 12.0?±?1.0 years for the Yellow Sea (YS). A 137Cs mass balance suggests that oceanic input from the north Pacific is the dominant 137Cs source to the China Seas, contributing about 96.9% of this substance. Furthermore, the bulk of 137Cs remains dissolved in the SCS water column, while 137Cs is mostly deposited to the sediments of the ECS and the YS. This new compilation of the activity level and inventory of 137Cs help to establish background levels for future 137Cs studies in the China Seas.

SUBMITTER: Wu J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7260368 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Distribution and budget of 137Cs in the China Seas.

Wu Junwen J Xiao Xiyu X Sun Jiang J

Scientific reports 20200529 1

Cesium-137 is one of the most abundant anthropogenic radionuclides released by atmospheric nuclear testing and nuclear accidents, and accordingly it may significantly impact the health of humans and marine environmental eco-systems. Documenting the distribution and inventory of 137Cs is thus a crucial task. In this study, we collected a large number of datasets with field observations of 137Cs in the China Seas, in order to provide an in-depth understanding of 137</sup ...[more]

PMID: 32472036

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Project description:Contamination of freshwater fishes with 137Cs remains as a serious problem in Japan, nearly 10 years after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, but there is limited information on the distribution of 137Cs contamination in fish bodies. The 137Cs distribution can be used for the estimation of internal radiation exposure through the consumption of fish and for the dose estimation of fish themselves. In this study, the 137Cs distribution in the bodies of 8 freshwater fish species was investigated as percentages of total body burden for fish inhabiting Lake Inba. Fish samples were caught in stake nets placed close to the shore approximately once a month. After the measurement of body length and fresh weight, the radioactivities of 137Cs in muscle, internal organs, spawn, milt and bone were assayed using high-purity germanium detectors. Analysis of all fish samples showed that the 137Cs distribution was highest in muscle (54 ± 12%), followed by internal organs (7.8 ± 4.6%), spawn (7.4 ± 5.4%), milt (3.2 ± 2.1%) and bone (1.2 ± 0.58%). Among fish species, the highest proportion of 137Cs in muscle was detected in largemouth bass (71 ± 1 3%), followed by snakehead (69 ± 14%), channel catfish (63 ± 17%), common carp (62 ± 14%), barbel steed (58 ± 6.5%), silver carp (57 ± 7.7%), bluegill (53 ± 4.7%), and crucian carp (50 ± 10%). These results suggested that the 137Cs in muscle was likely to be high in piscivorous fishes compared to omnivorous fishes, especially crucian carp. The proportion of 137Cs in muscle of crucian carp was not explained either by body length or fresh weight. However, a positive correlation was found between the proportion of 137Cs in muscle and the condition factor which was an indicator of nutritional status calculated from a length-weight relationship. This correlation implied that more 137Cs accumulated in muscle tissue of a fish species with high nutritional status. This is the first study to show that condition factor is more important than body length and wet weight in explaining the high proportion of 137Cs in muscle tissues, at least for crucian carp.

Dataset Information

Distribution and budget of 137Cs in the China Seas.

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Distribution and budget of <sup>137</sup>Cs in the China Seas.

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