Fukushima radionuclides at air filter and rain water samples collected from Istanbul and their atmospheric removal time

An overview of current knowledge concerning the health and environmental consequences of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident

Since 2011, the scientific community has worked to identify the exact transport and deposition patterns of radionuclides released from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) in Japan. Nevertheless, there still remain many unknowns concerning the health and environmental impacts of these radionuclides. The present paper reviews the current understanding of the FDNPP accident with respect to interactions of the released radionuclides with the environment and impacts on human and non-human biota. Here, we scrutinize existing literature and combine and interpret observations and modeling assessments derived after Fukushima. Finally, we discuss the behavior and applications of radionuclides that might be used as tracers of environmental processes. This review focuses on (137)Cs and (131)I releases derived from Fukushima. Published estimates suggest total release amounts of 12-36.7PBq of (137)Cs and 150-160PBq of (131)I. Maximum estimated human mortality due to the Fukushima nuclear accident is 10,000 (due to all causes) and the maximum estimates for lifetime cancer mortality and morbidity are 1500 and 1800, respectively. Studies of plants and animals in the forests of Fukushima have recorded a range of physiological, developmental, morphological, and behavioral consequences of exposure to radioactivity. Some of the effects observed in the exposed populations include the following: hematological aberrations in Fukushima monkeys; genetic, developmental and morphological aberrations in a butterfly; declines in abundances of birds, butterflies and cicadas; aberrant growth forms in trees; and morphological abnormalities in aphids. These findings are discussed from the perspective of conservation biology.

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

The Golden Horn is an estuary located in the center of İstanbul receiving freshwater discharges from two creeks and connecting to the Bosphorus Strait. Activity concentrations of natural and artificial radionuclides were determined in mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and sediments from the Golden Horn sampled in February 2012. Mean activity concentrations of (137)Cs, (40)K, (226)Ra, (228)Ra, (210)Po and (210)Pb in the mussels were determined at 1.03±0.23, 389±41.6, 2.61±1.23, not detected (ND), 91.96±37.88 and 11.48±4.85 Bq kg(-1), respectively. In sediments, it was observed that (137)Cs, (40)K, (226)Ra, (228)Ra, (210)Po and (210)Pb activity concentrations in<63 μm particle fraction of sediment were generally higher than those determined in mussels. Po-210 and (210)Po/(210)Pb ratios in mussels from the Golden Horn were much lower than in mussels from other coastal regions and this was related to low plankton productivity and eutrophication of the Golden Horn.