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Accumulation of Natural Radionuclides in the Bottom Sediments and by Aquatic Organisms of Streams
Author(s) -
Justýn Jaromír,
Stanêk Zdenêk
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
internationale revue der gesamten hydrobiologie und hydrographie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1522-2632
pISSN - 0020-9309
DOI - 10.1002/iroh.19740590502
Subject(s) - sediment , radionuclide , uranium , environmental chemistry , algae , radium , effluent , aquatic ecosystem , environmental science , biomass (ecology) , aquatic plant , geology , hydrology (agriculture) , macrophyte , chemistry , ecology , oceanography , environmental engineering , radiochemistry , biology , geomorphology , physics , materials science , geotechnical engineering , quantum mechanics , metallurgy
The accumulation of natural radioisotopes by aquatic organisms and bottom sediments was studied in two small rivers, one uncontaminated and the other polluted by effluents of uranium ore mining and milling. Parabolic regressions between the water and uppermost sediment content of both uranium and total beta activity (corrected for 40 K content) is presented and demonstrates the water cumulative capacity of organically rich sediments. For 226 Ra no significant differences between sediments with different organic content were found. The 226 Ra content of bottom sediments is expressed as a power function of radium and calcium concentration in the water. In the given reaches, 53% and 85% of uranium and over 90% of 226 Ra and total beta activity (corrected for 40 K) was accumulated in the upper two centimetres of sediments and biomass of aquatic vegetation. Filamentous algae, plankton, aquatic bryophyta and macrophyta from the present and other published data showed rather higher cumulation capacities as compared with bottom sediments.