Open AccessRadiation dose and risk to recreational fishermen from ingestion of fish caught near eight oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico
Author(s) -
A F Meinhold,
S Holtzman
Publication year - 1998
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/290973
Subject(s) - submarine pipeline , environmental science , fishery , radionuclide , fishing , fossil fuel , recreation , produced water , recreational fishing , environmental protection , oceanography , waste management , environmental engineering , geology , ecology , biology , engineering , physics , quantum mechanics
Offshore production of oil and gas is accompanied by a saline wastewater, called produced water. Produced water discharges to the Gulf of Mexico often contain elevated concentrations of radionuclides that occur naturally in the geologic reservoir along with the oil and gas. These radionuclides may accumulate in organisms that live near offshore oil and gas structures. Because recreational fishing in the Gulf of Mexico is concentrated near oil and gas platforms, there is the potential for increased risks to recreational fishermen from the ingestion of radionuclides in fish caught near produced water discharges. This analysis investigated the potential risk to recreational fishermen from radium and lead-210 in offshore produced water discharged to the Gulf of Mexico