Po-210 in the marine biota of Korean coastal waters and the effective dose from seafood consumption

Abstract

The activity concentrations of Po-210 were determined in plankton and selected species of macroalgae, crustaceans, molluscs, and fish from Korean coastal waters to understand Po-210 distribution in these trophic levels and to assess the effective dose of Po-210 from seafood ingested by the average Korean. The activity concentration of Po-210 in macroalgae, mixed plankton, anchovy (whole body), abalone muscle, and abalone viscera was 0.97-1.43, 32-137, 59-392, 2.93 +/- 0.86, and 1495 +/- 484 Bq kg(-1) (w.w.), respectively. Polonium-210 concentration in the whole flesh of mussel and oyster were 47.8 +/- 5.9 and 45.3 +/- 7.1 Bq kg(-1) (w.w.), respectively. Polonium-210 concentration in the muscle of the five tested species of fish other than anchovy ranged from 0.51 to 5.56 Bq kg(-1) (w.w.), with the lowest amount in a demersal species. In fish, Po-210 activity concentration was as much as three orders of magnitude higher in viscera than in muscle. The average annual effective Po-210 dose per average Korean adult, who consumes 42.8 kg of seafood a year (excluding anchovy), was estimated to be 94 mu Sv y(-1), with 42-71% of this attributed to shellfish. Further studies are required to assess the dose of Po-210 from anchovy owing to its high activity concentration and the manner in which anchovy is consumed. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.