Abstract
THE significance of radionuclides in organisms of marine and fresh water environments has been discussed by Seymour1, Krumholz2, and many others3. Samples of marine animals from the western central Pacific Ocean have been found to accumulate fission products, such as cerium-144 and zirconium-95. Lowman et al.4 have pointed out that induced isotopes of the essential trace elements, such as manganese-54, iron-55, cobalt-60 and zinc-65, form a large part of the total radioactivity present in Pacific plankton and fishes. The passage of radionuclides from the primary producers, various attached plants and phyto-plankton, through grazing animals to larger predators, presents many important problems5. Laboratory experiments have recently shown that algae accumulate appreciable levels of radionuclides from radiation-contaminated waters6,7. Long-lived nuclides impounded in stationary bodies of water are probably available for the rest of their physical half-lives for incorporation into aquatic flora and fauna. The long-range effects on life in natural water can only be surmised.
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References
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BURKHOLDER, P. Radioactivity in Some Aquatic Plants. Nature 198, 601–603 (1963). https://doi.org/10.1038/198601a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/198601a0
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