Cesium accumulation by fish following acute input to lakes: a comparison of experimental and Chernobyl-impacted systems
J.E. Pinder, III1, T.G. Hinton2, F.W. Whicker3, and J.T. Smith4
1Department
of Biology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX 76129, USA
2Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802,
USA
3Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1618, USA
4School of Earth and Environmental Science, University of
Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3QL, UK
Abstract:
An uptake parameter u
(L kg-1 d-1) and a loss rate parameter k
(d-1) were estimated for the patterns of accumulation and loss
of 133Cs by three fish species following an experimental 133Cs
addition into a pond in South Carolina, USA. These u
and k
parameters were compared to similar estimates for fish from other experimental
ponds and from lakes that received 137Cs deposition from Chernobyl.
Estimates of u
from ponds and lakes declined with increasing potassium concentrations
in the water column. Although loss rates were greater in the experimental
ponds, the times required to reach maximum Cs concentrations in fish were
similar between ponds and lakes, because ponds and lakes had similar retentions
of Cs in the water column. The maximum Cs concentrations in fish were
largely determined by initial Cs concentrations in the water column. These
maximum concentrations in fish and the times required to reach these maxima
are potentially useful indicators for assessments of risks to humans from
fish consumption.
Keywords: 137Cs, 133Cs, Fish, Uptake rates,
Loss rates, Maximum concentrations, Pond 4, Chernobyl
SREL Reprint #3103
Pinder, J.
E., III, T. G. Hinton, F. W. Whicker, and J. T. Smith. 2009. Cesium accumulation
by fish following acute input to lakes: a comparison of experimental and
Chernobyl-impacted systems. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 100(2009):
456-467.
