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The Accumulation of Y 90 from an Equilibrium Mixture of Sr 90 ‐Y 90 by Artemia salina (L.) 1
Author(s) -
BOROUGHS HOWARD,
TOWNSLEY SIDNEY J.,
EGO WINIFRED
Publication year - 1958
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1958.3.4.0413
Subject(s) - artemia salina , nuclide , fractionation , food chain , seawater , trophic level , radiochemistry , radionuclide , chemistry , biology , environmental chemistry , ecology , chromatography , physics , toxicity , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
Artemia salina (L.) was chosen as a representative organism in the second trophic level for studying one phase of the process of transfer of radionuclides through a marine food chain. Adult Artemia were cultured in filtered sea water which contained Sr 9 0 ‐Y 90 . They were not fed during the experiment which lasted 92 hours. They were removed at intervals, washed, and their radioactivity determined with an end‐window counter. At 16 hours the concentration of radioactivity in the Artemia was about 40 times that of an equal weight of sea water. The radioactivity decayed at a rate which was similar to the decay rate of Y 90 . It was estimated that only about 5 per cent of the activity remaining at secular equilibrium was due to Sr 90 , the remainder being Y 90 . This biological fractionation of Sr 90 ‐Y 90 may affect the transfer of these hazardous nuclides through food chains leading to human food. The fractionation of these nuclides by laboratory glassware is briefly discussed.