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Guan Y, Fan K, Wang S, Cui L, Wang H, Guo Z, Chen W, He H, Liu Z. Assessment of the depositional characteristics of the Yellow River estuary from 1960s by 239+240Pu and 137Cs. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:169473. [PMID: 38141998 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/25/2023]
Abstract
The spatial and vertical distribution of 239+240Pu and 137Cs in the sediments of the Yellow River Delta was studied to evaluate the deposition dynamics in the Yellow River estuary from 1960s. The activity of 239+240Pu and 137Cs in sediment core ranged from 0.001 to 0.212 Bq/kg and 0.52-2.53 Bq/kg, respectively. A maximum accumulation peak and two secondary accumulation peaks appeared in the sediment core YR2. The average deposition rate of 8.3 cm/y for the Yellow River estuary from 1964 to 1976 was obtained. The proportion of Pu from the Yellow River net input and direct deposition to the total inventory of Pu in the estuary was assessed, with a total inventory of Pu in the abandoned estuary of 7.4 × 1010 Bq and a net input of 2.2 × 1010 Bq from the Yellow River. Pu deposited in the estuary only accounts for 18 % of the total Pu transported by the Yellow River, and most of the Pu is injected into the Bohai Sea with the Yellow River.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongjing Guan
- Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
| | - Kaidi Fan
- Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Shenzhen Wang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Liangjia Cui
- Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Huijuan Wang
- Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Zichen Guo
- Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Wu Chen
- Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Hua He
- Guangxi Key Laboratory for Relativistic Astrophysics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Zhiyong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X) and Collaborative Innovation Centre of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.
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Ubonyaem T, Bureekul S, Charoenpong C, Luadnakrob P, Sompongchaiyakul P. Preindustrial levels and temporal enrichment trends of mercury in sediment cores from the Gulf of Thailand. ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY AND HEALTH 2023; 45:4243-4256. [PMID: 36715844 DOI: 10.1007/s10653-022-01465-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Four sediment cores in the middle of Gulf of Thailand (GOT) and one core close to Bang Pakong River mouth were examined for total mercury (T-Hg) using direct thermal decomposition coupled with the atomic absorption spectrometry (DTD-AAS) method and acid digestion (acid-CVAAS) method, and sediment chronologies using 210Pb dating. T-Hg in the river mouth core ranged 44.49-52.76 µg/kg and higher than the cores from the middle of GOT (18.26-36.68 µg/kg). The age span obtained from the cores dated back to the 1940s with the sediment accumulation rates of 0.15-0.76 cm/year. The preindustrial levels of T-Hg showed an initial slow increase followed by a rapid elevation since the 1960s which marked the start of the industrialized period in the country. To this end, we posit that T-Hg in the GOT sediment can be attributed to not only land-based sources but also offshore activities including petroleum exploration and frequent accidental oil spills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanakorn Ubonyaem
- Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Sujaree Bureekul
- Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Chawalit Charoenpong
- Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Pontipa Luadnakrob
- Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center, Training Department, Samut Prakan, 10290, Thailand
| | - Penjai Sompongchaiyakul
- Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand.
- Research Program on Remediation Technologies for Petroleum Contamination, Center of Excellence on Hazardous Substance Management (HSM), Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
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Fan Y, Jiang H, Ren J, Liu X, Lan J, Cheng P, Liu Q, Tan L, Xue C, Sun Y, Hou X. Plutonium-based radiometric dating of rapidly accumulated sediments in the Sanyuan sinkhole, southern Chinese Loess Plateau. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 864:160937. [PMID: 36528106 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Radionuclides, such as 210Pb, 137Cs and 239,240Pu, have been widely used for dating recent sediments in terrestrial and marine environments, while 129I, as an important artificial radionuclide in the environment, is also a potential tracer for sediment dating and environmental process studies. However, they were not always successfully applied to sediment dating because of their different sources, half-lives, environmental behaviour and measurement techniques. The dating applicability of these nuclides in a sedimentary environment with rapid accumulation on land was investigated for sinkhole sediment from the southern Chinese Loess Plateau. Our results showed that 210Pb and 137Cs could not be adequately used for dating the sediments due to the difficulties in accurately measuring 137Cs and excess 210Pb (210Pbex) signals caused by the dilution effect of rapid accumulation. 129I is not an ideal dating tracer because of its multisource feature causing no remarkable peak value in the sediment cores. The depth distribution of 239,240Pu in the sediment core showed a single peak corresponding to its maximum fallout in 1963 from the atmospheric nuclear weapons test, suggesting that Pu isotopes have significant advantages in dating recent sediments. The sensitive inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) measurement technique enables the determination of very low levels of 239Pu and 240Pu and makes 239,240Pu a suitable tracer for dating the rapidly accumulated sediment. Based on the 239,240Pu mass balance equation estimation and field observations, we proposed the water-eroded input from soil surrounding the sinkhole as another vital source of the sediments in addition to the aeolian contribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yukun Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of AMS Technology and Application, Xi'an AMS Centre, Xi'an 710061, China
| | - Huan Jiang
- Xi'an Institute for Innovative Earth Environment Research, Xi'an 710061, China
| | - Junli Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China; College of Earth Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xingxing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China
| | - Jianghu Lan
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China
| | - Peng Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of AMS Technology and Application, Xi'an AMS Centre, Xi'an 710061, China
| | - Qi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of AMS Technology and Application, Xi'an AMS Centre, Xi'an 710061, China
| | - Liangcheng Tan
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China
| | - Cheng Xue
- School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University, Xi'an 710061, China
| | - Youbin Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China
| | - Xiaolin Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710061, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of AMS Technology and Application, Xi'an AMS Centre, Xi'an 710061, China.
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Romanenko V, Lujanienė G. Short review of plutonium applications for the sediment transport studies. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2023; 257:107066. [PMID: 36395679 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2022.107066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The transport of sediments in surface waters is a natural process involving the relocation of the sediments themselves and the nutrients, pollutants and radionuclides associated with them. Plutonium isotopes have proven to be a useful tool for studying this process over several decades. In this article, we review the characteristics of the behaviour of plutonium in the water column and the main directions of its use to study the transport of sediments at different scales. The characteristic isotopic fingerprints of the sources and their known input functions, as well as the good reactivity of the particles, favour the widespread use of plutonium for the study of the chronology of sediments and deposits and for studies of the fate and migration pathways of sediments at different scales. While other radionuclides are losing relevance due to the short half-life the 239Pu and 240Pu will remain useable for a long time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vitaliy Romanenko
- State Research Institute Center for Physical Sciences and Technology Public Institution, Savanorių ave. 231, LT-02300, Vilnius, Lithuania.
| | - Galina Lujanienė
- State Research Institute Center for Physical Sciences and Technology Public Institution, Savanorių ave. 231, LT-02300, Vilnius, Lithuania
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Rudd JWM, Bodaly RA, Fisher NS, Kelly CA, Kopec D, Whipple C. Fifty years after its discharge, methylation of legacy mercury trapped in the Penobscot Estuary sustains high mercury in biota. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 642:1340-1352. [PMID: 30045514 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2018] [Revised: 06/02/2018] [Accepted: 06/06/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Fifty years ago, the Penobscot Estuary was contaminated by mercury discharged from the chlor-alkali plant located in Orrington, Maine, USA. Almost all of the mercury was discharged from the plant during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Despite the much lower mercury discharges in recent decades, present-day concentrations in surface sediment remain high (averaging 350-1100 ng/g dw) and are still high in blood of marsh birds (up to 10.5 μg/g), black duck muscle (0.8 μg/g), and lobster muscle (0.4 μg/g). Methyl mercury (MeHg) concentrations in marsh birds exceed levels that impair reproduction. There are health advisories for duck hunters and closures of shellfish fisheries. These continuing high mercury concentrations are caused by the trapping of legacy mercury in a mobile pool of sediment that is retained in the upper estuary above a tidally forced salinity front, which travels up and down the estuary each tidal cycle - slowing the transport of particulate mercury to Penobscot Bay. The trapped legacy mercury continues to be available for methylation 50 years after it first entered the estuary. This is demonstrated by the fact that rates of MeHg production are positively related to the inorganic mercury concentration in parts of the estuary with elevated concentrations of legacy mercury. Thus, remediation measures that would lower the THg concentration in surface sediment would lower the MeHg in birds, fish and shellfish. All of this new information leads us to recommend two remediation options. Addition of mercury binding agents may lower mercury concentrations in birds in some wetland areas. System-wide, we also recommend Enhanced Natural Recovery (ENR), a novel approach that involves the partial removal of the contaminated mobile sediment pool followed by replacement with clean-clay particulates to dilute inorganic mercury concentrations, which would lower methylation rates and mercury concentrations in biota.
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Affiliation(s)
- John W M Rudd
- R&K Research Inc., 675 Mount Belcher Heights, Salt Spring Island, B.C. V8K 2J3, Canada.
| | - R A Bodaly
- Penobscot River Mercury Study, 115 Oystercatcher Place, Salt Spring Island, B.C. V8K 2W5, Canada.
| | - Nicholas S Fisher
- School of School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, NY 11794-5000, USA.
| | - C A Kelly
- R&K Research Inc., 675 Mount Belcher Heights, Salt Spring Island, B.C. V8K 2J3, Canada.
| | - Dianne Kopec
- Penobscot River Mercury Study, 479 Beechwood Avenue, Old Town, ME 04468, USA.
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