although considerably higher than in other parts of the World Ocean, are such that
no significant radiological consequences can be expected for the public.
Fallout from atmospheric weapon tests and from Chernobyl accident provided
excellent radiotracers for the Black Sea, such as
90 Sr,
137 Cs and plutonium isotopes
(Osvath et al. 1998). The main input occurred through direct deposition on the sea
surface. For
90 Sr, the Dnieper river became a significant source after the nuclear
accident.
Various radiotracers can be used to trace water mixing and circulation, as time
markers to provide sediment deposition chronologies, to provide information on fluxes
of particles and particle-reactive pollutants, and in planktonic primary production
estimates by,
14
C (relevant to eutrophication).
For the Romanian Black Sea sector such work has carried particular importance.
The need for monitoring radioactivity level’s is mainly explained by the continuing
existence of fallout, by the than its own area, shared by 17 countries and inhabited
by over 160 milion people. Rivers, notably the Danube, Dnieper, Don, Kuban and
Bug, bring in about 80% of the pollutants (50% from the Danube alone). They
include agrochemicals, poorly treated industrial liquid effluents, and domestic
wastewater. Atmospheric transport, predominantly from Europe, and coastal
sources, such as direct industrial waste and sewage discharges or dump sites,
account for the remaining 20%. Riverine input of nutrients, heavy metals, radionuclides, organic compounds and oil is a severe problem (Osvath et al. 1998). The
Black Sea’s radioactivity levels have been the subject of rigorous research in the
riparian countries and among organizations participating in various international
oceanographic cruises. After the Chernobyl accident interest in radiological
research of the Black Sea increased. Studies have included both radioactivity
surveys on abiotic and biotic compounds, and experiments on the biokinetics of
radionuclides in the marine environment.
The main research tasks have included completion of the database on marine
radioactive levels. Data have been also used for studies of distribution coefficients
(Kds) for marine sediments and seawater and of concentration factors (CFs) for
relevant local species. Assessment of external and internal individual and collective
doses from marine radioactivity due to immersion in seawater and/or sea food
consumption is also being made (Patrascu and Bologa 1990).
The monitoring is being done for a number of reasons. One objective was to
define the levels of radioactivity in the marine environment as a baseline before the
new NPP started operating. Another objective was the identification of
bioindicators for studying radiocontamination of the marine ecosystem, and experimentally determining possible levels of accumulation of critical radionuclides in
marine biota and biological systems having direct or indirect influences on the
environment and human health.
Studies of radioactivity in environmental components in the Romanian marine
sector date back in 1962. Beginning in 1976, the Romanian Marine Research
Institute (RMRI, later National Institute for Marine Research and Development
“Grigore Antipa” – NIMRD) initiated the country’s systematic study of marine
radioactivity using a network of permanent stations located between the Danube
18 Radioecology of the Black Sea
301
no significant radiological consequences can be expected for the public.
Fallout from atmospheric weapon tests and from Chernobyl accident provided
excellent radiotracers for the Black Sea, such as
90 Sr,
137 Cs and plutonium isotopes
(Osvath et al. 1998). The main input occurred through direct deposition on the sea
surface. For
90 Sr, the Dnieper river became a significant source after the nuclear
accident.
Various radiotracers can be used to trace water mixing and circulation, as time
markers to provide sediment deposition chronologies, to provide information on fluxes
of particles and particle-reactive pollutants, and in planktonic primary production
estimates by,
14
C (relevant to eutrophication).
For the Romanian Black Sea sector such work has carried particular importance.
The need for monitoring radioactivity level’s is mainly explained by the continuing
existence of fallout, by the than its own area, shared by 17 countries and inhabited
by over 160 milion people. Rivers, notably the Danube, Dnieper, Don, Kuban and
Bug, bring in about 80% of the pollutants (50% from the Danube alone). They
include agrochemicals, poorly treated industrial liquid effluents, and domestic
wastewater. Atmospheric transport, predominantly from Europe, and coastal
sources, such as direct industrial waste and sewage discharges or dump sites,
account for the remaining 20%. Riverine input of nutrients, heavy metals, radionuclides, organic compounds and oil is a severe problem (Osvath et al. 1998). The
Black Sea’s radioactivity levels have been the subject of rigorous research in the
riparian countries and among organizations participating in various international
oceanographic cruises. After the Chernobyl accident interest in radiological
research of the Black Sea increased. Studies have included both radioactivity
surveys on abiotic and biotic compounds, and experiments on the biokinetics of
radionuclides in the marine environment.
The main research tasks have included completion of the database on marine
radioactive levels. Data have been also used for studies of distribution coefficients
(Kds) for marine sediments and seawater and of concentration factors (CFs) for
relevant local species. Assessment of external and internal individual and collective
doses from marine radioactivity due to immersion in seawater and/or sea food
consumption is also being made (Patrascu and Bologa 1990).
The monitoring is being done for a number of reasons. One objective was to
define the levels of radioactivity in the marine environment as a baseline before the
new NPP started operating. Another objective was the identification of
bioindicators for studying radiocontamination of the marine ecosystem, and experimentally determining possible levels of accumulation of critical radionuclides in
marine biota and biological systems having direct or indirect influences on the
environment and human health.
Studies of radioactivity in environmental components in the Romanian marine
sector date back in 1962. Beginning in 1976, the Romanian Marine Research
Institute (RMRI, later National Institute for Marine Research and Development
“Grigore Antipa” – NIMRD) initiated the country’s systematic study of marine
radioactivity using a network of permanent stations located between the Danube
18 Radioecology of the Black Sea
301