Radiocarbon behaviour in seawater and the brown algae Fucus serratus in the vicinity of the COGEMA La Hague spent fuel reprocessing plant (Goury) France

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14/10/2004

Eric Douville, Bruno Fiévet, Pierre Germain, Marc Fournier

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 77 (2004), 355-368

Type de document > *Article de revue
Mots clés publication scientifique > algue , carbone , eaux douces/de mer , effluents
Unité de recherche > IRSN/DEI/STEME/LMRE , IRSN/DEI/SECRE/LRC
Auteurs > FIEVET Bruno , FOURNIER Marc , GERMAIN Pierre

Extensive studies of the radiocarbon (14C) distribution and transfer in the marine environ­ment of the North-Cotentin peninsula and along the English Channel have been carried out. The main aims of these studies have been to estimate the spatial and temporal variation of the 14C concentration in seawater and to calculate 14C concentration factors for some bio­logical species. Such information will be helpful in order to calculate precisely radiation doses to humans. First results obtained in the vicinity of the COGEMA La Hague nuclear plant (Goury) indicate a 14C labelling of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in seawater (8.0-26.2 Bq.m-3) and a tight relationship between the 14C in the liquid releases from the plant and the 14C concentrations in DIC. The particulate organic carbon (POC) is also label­led. The concentration factor calculations for the brown algae (Fucus serratus) sampled from Goury, and also along the English Channel, give 14C values around 3000 Bq.kg-1 fresh weight / Bq.L-1