Bj. Howard et al., A REVIEW OF RADIONUCLIDES IN TIDE-WASHED PASTURES ON THE IRISH SEA COAST IN ENGLAND AND WALES AND THEIR TRANSFER TO FOOD-PRODUCTS, Environmental pollution, 93(1), 1996, pp. 63-74
Close to the Sellafield Reprocessing Plant activity concentrations of
many radionuclides including the long-lived Cs-137 and actinides on ti
de-washed pastures bordering the Irish Sea are high compared with othe
r terrestrial ecosystems in the United Kingdom, Despite the comparativ
ely high deposition of radionuclides, contamination of agricultural pr
oducts from tide-washed pastures is lower than would be predicted from
studies in terrestrial ecosystems. This is because the main source of
contamination in tide-washed pasture, radionuclides associated with s
edimentary particles, has low availability for uptake by plant roots a
nd in the gut of ruminants. Generalised Derived Limits (GDLs), publish
ed by the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) are estimates
of environmental radioactivity concentrations which would potentially
be radiologically significant. These provide a benchmark against which
environmental measurements can be assessed, In the past, several comp
arisons of radioactivity concentrations in tide-washed pastures with G
DLs have been made, but only some of these comparisons are valid since
current approaches used to assess doses are not always strictly appro
priate to these ecosystems. Directly applicable GDLs ave needed, and a
re currently being developed by the NRPB. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier
Science Ltd