natural radionuclide of po210 in the edible seafood affected by coal-fired power plant industry in kapar coastal area of malaysia天然放射性核素的po210食用海鲜影响燃煤电厂行业kapar马来西亚的沿海地区.pdfVIP

Alam and Mohamed Environmental Health 2011, 10:43 /content/10/1/43 RESEARCH Open Access Natural radionuclide of Po210 in the edible seafood affected by coal-fired power plant industry in Kapar coastal area of Malaysia Lubna Alam1† and Che Abd Rahim Mohamed2*† Abstract Background: Po210 can be accumulated in various environmental materials, including marine organisms, and contributes to the dose of natural radiation in seafood. The concentration of this radionuclide in the marine environment can be influenced by the operation of a coal burning power plant but existing studies regarding this issue are not well documented. Therefore, the aim of this study was to estimate the Po210 concentration level in marine organisms from the coastal area of Kapar, Malaysia which is very near to a coal burning power plant station and to assess its impact on seafood consumers. Methods: Concentration of Po210 was determined in the edible muscle of seafood and water from the coastal area of Kapar, Malaysia using radiochemical separation and the Alpha Spectrometry technique. Results: The activities of Po210 in the dissolved phase of water samples ranged between 0.51 ± 0.21 and 0.71 ± 0.24 mBql-1 whereas the particulate phase registered a range of 50.34 ± 11.40 to 72.07 ± 21.20 Bqkg-1. The ranges of Po210 activities in the organism samples were 4.4 ± 0.12 to 6.4 ± 0.95 Bqkg-1 dry wt in fish (Arius maculatus), 45.7 ± 0.86 to 54.4 ± 1.58 Bqkg-1 dry wt in shrimp (Penaeus merguiensis) and 104.3 ± 3.44 to 293.8 ± 10.04 Bqkg-1 dry wt in cockle (Anadara granosa). The variation of Po210 in organisms is dependent on the mode of their life style, ambient water concentration and seasonal changes. The concentration factors calculated for fish and molluscs were higher than the recommended values by the IAEA. An assessment of da