Concentration ratios of stable elements for selected biota in Japanese estuarine areas

For the estimation of radiation doses to organisms, concentration ratios (C _R s) of radionuclides are required. In the present study, C _R s of various elements were obtained as analogues of radionuclides for algae, molluscs, and crustaceans, in eight estuarine areas around Japan. The elements measured were Na, Mg, K, Ca, V, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Rb, Sr, Y, Mo, Cd, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Pb, and U. The geometric mean (GM) values of C _R s (GM-C _R s) for alkali and alkaline earth elements, Mo, and U for all biota, as well as V for crustaceans, were less than 100 L/kg, while GM-C _R s for the other elements were higher. When the obtained GM-C _R s were compared with the C _R s recommended in IAEA Technical Report Series 422 for marine organisms, no big differences between them were found; however, several elements (i.e. Cd and U for algae, Mn for molluscs, and Pb for crustaceans) were lower than the recommended C _R s. In the present study, conversion factors (the ratio of C _R for the whole body to that for muscle) for molluscs and crustaceans were also calculated, since data on edible parts of these organisms are generally available in the literature. For crustaceans, GM conversion factors of all the elements were more than one. For molluscs, GM conversion factors of rare earth elements and U were slightly higher than those for crustaceans, while GM conversion factors of the other elements were almost the same and less than 10. These results indicate that some elements tend to be concentrated in the internal organs of biota collected in the estuarine areas. For environmental radiological assessment, conversion factors from tissue to whole-body C _R values are useful parameters.