Experimental determination of uptake and depuration capacities of 137Cs radioisotope in some marine organisms

In this study, accumulation and depuration kinetics in the samples of mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis L. 1758) and sea snails (Rapana venosa (Valenciennes, 1846)) exposed to 137Cs radioisotope by sea water were investigated under laboratory conditions. Accumulation and depuration kinetics were monitored as 49 and 59 days, respectively.Concentration factor and biological half-life values were calculated from the accumulation and depuration kinetics of mussel and sea snail samples. The equilibrium state concentration factors in the soft tissues of large mussels, small mussels, large snails and small snails were found to be 16,25 ± 4,41, 19,50 ± 1,17, 16,34 ± 0,70 and 14,31 ± 0,63, respectively. The long-term biological half-lives of the large mussels, small mussels, large snails and small snails were found to be 38,50, 77,00, 49,50 and 57,75 days, respectively. Although these results indicate that mussel and sea snail organisms are highly valuable indicators of the radioactive contamination in the seas when the 137Cs radioisotope is monitored for possible intake of any radioactive contamination in the marine environment.