210Po and 210Pb concentration in zooplankton of the Syrian coastal waters (eastern Mediterranean Sea)


Published: May 31, 2019
Keywords:
Zooplankton Syrian coast Concentration ratio (CR) Polonium 210Po Lead 210Pb.
MOHAMMAD SAID AL-MASRI
SAMER MAMISH
MOHAMMAD ABDEL-HALEEM
HANI HANI DURGHAM
Abstract

210Po and 210Pb activity concentrations and their concentration ratio (CR) in marine zooplankton collected for the first time from the Syrian coastal waters (the eastern Mediterranean Sea) have been determined. The average activity concentrations of 210Po and 210Pb were 243±36 and 26.4±4.3 Bqkg-1 dw. The 210Po/210Pb activity ratio was found to be more than one  in all zooplankton samples with an average of 9.2 (8.4 to 10), which indicates that the accumulation of 210Po in zooplankton does not come from the decay of the 210Pb only, and reflects a preferential bioaccumulation of 210Po over 210Pb. In addition, the Concentration Ratio (CR) for 210Po and 210Pb reached 104 and 103, respectively. This study will contribute to the radioecological reference database for zooplankton in the Mediterranean Sea.

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Author Biography
MOHAMMAD SAID AL-MASRI, Department of Protection and Safety, Atomic Energy Commission of Syria, Damascus, P. O. Box 6091, Syria
Department of Protection and Safety, Atomic Energy Commission of Syria