The 210Po and 210Pb levels in surface sediment samples in the Izmir Bay (Aegean Sea-Turkey)

Abstract

Bottom sediments reflect in general the relative contamination of a sea area. Therefore, a great deal of monitoring work has been dedicated to the analysis of bottom sediments. Izmir Bay is a very important pollution centre in Turkish Aegean coast region due to a densely populated community, industrial complex and maritime transportation, and there are many streams flowing into the bay that pass through a number of industrial and agricultural areas. It had received the majority of domestic and industrial wastewaters until the wastewater treatment plant was constructed. It is well known that sediments play an important role as reservoirs of a fraction of the pollution in aquatic systems. Therefore, sediment samples were collected monthly from three stations which are located in the inner part of the bay during the period January to December 2003. Temporal variations and seasonal changes on their (210)Po and (210)Pb contents were examined, and the activity concentrations of (210)Po and (210)Pb were found to vary from 43+/-6 to 132+/-12 and 27+/-5 to 91+/-9 Bq kg(-1) dry wt, respectively. The highest values of those natural radionuclides were measured at Karşiyaka Station because of the current systems of the bay. Seasonally, the (210)Pb levels were found to increase during the winter time for all the stations.

Activity of 210Po and 210Pb in the riverine environs of coastal Kerala on the southwest coast of India

“…The 210 Po activity concentrations in Bharathapuzha river sediment samples are comparable with reported values of 4.5 Bq kg À1 to 17 Bq kg À1 for coastal region of UK (Mc Donald, Cook, & Baxter, 1992). The 210 Pb activity in the Kallada river environment is comparable with the reported values of 27 Bq kg À1 to 91 Bq kg À1 for the sediment samples in the Izmir Bay, Turkey (Sacan et al, 2010).…”

Radioactivity levels in mussels and sediments of the Golden Horn by the Bosphorus Strait, Marmara Sea

“…have been commonly used as sentinel organisms for determination of both radioactive and nonradioactive contaminants in coastal environments because of their ability to concentrate contaminants from sea water (Thébault et al, 2008;Carvalho et al, 2010Carvalho et al, , 2011Kılıç and Çotuk, 2011;Kılıç and Belivermis ß, 2013;Kılıç et al, 2014). Sediments generally are the fate and main reservoir of natural and artificial radionuclides and non-radioactive contaminants entering the marine environment and are used also as sample material to assess marine pollution levels (Bou-Rabee and Bern, 1997;Tsabaris et al, 2007;Saçan et al, 2010;Kılıç and Çotuk, 2011;Povinec et al, 2012;Aközcan, 2013;Kılıç and Belivermis ß, 2013). Furthermore, besides obvious transfer to sediment dwelling organisms such as worms and clams, through sediment resuspension sediment bound radionuclides can be taken up by filter feeding organisms in the water column.…”

“…Furthermore, besides obvious transfer to sediment dwelling organisms such as worms and clams, through sediment resuspension sediment bound radionuclides can be taken up by filter feeding organisms in the water column. These radionuclides can pass along the food chain and be transferred to humans (Carvalho and Fowler, 1994;Saçan et al, 2010). Accumulation of radionuclides in sediment vary widely with sediment characteristics such as grain size, mineral composition, organic http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.06.033 0025-326X/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.…”

Trace metal and radionuclide pollution in marine sediments of the Aegean Sea (Izmir Bay and Didim)

“…Sediments are the primary repository of radionuclides and chemicals entering the marine environment (Saçan et al 2010). Thus, marine sediments are commonly used as environmental matrices in chemical and radioactive monitoring programs.…”