RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN RADIONUCLIDE CONTENT AND TEXTURAL PROPERTIES INIRISH SEA INTERTIDAL SEDIMENTS

Intertidal sediments from a range of depositional environments in the eastern Irish Sea have been analysed with regard to their radionuclide content, particle size distribution and magnetic properties. Concentr ations of Am-241 and Cs-137 are highly influenced by the abundance of sediment liner than 32 mu m in fine-grained sedimentary environments, whilst radionuclide activity in coarser sediments is less dependent on particle size. Investigation of the magnetic properties of these sedi ments highlights a similar association between this size fraction and magnetic remanence, the latter being shown to offer strong potential a s a grain size proxy in monitoring Cs-137 concentrations in fine-grain ed sediments. Analysis of particle size fractions indicates the extent to which Cs-137 may be enriched in the clay size fractions of both fi ne and coarse sediments.