ae I
Table 8.
Concentrations of 137Cs in the muscle tissue of fish collected from
cee
locations at Bikini Atoll at different times.
137¢s (pCi/kg wet wt)
ourgeonfish
Mullet
(Crenimugil)
B-
eee we
ie
Period sampled
1/77
263
11/78
397
2/81
227
8/83
287
9/84
|
LAN
9/80
‘Acanthurus)
B-5
B-]
B-6
Goatfish
(Mulloidichtys)
B-6
Mullet
(Neomyxus)
B-17
"40
133
5]
226
l2
16
13
12
v
60
2]
320
430
43
.53
Unless there is some unforeseen impact on the lagoon, such as the
disposal of uncontained, contaminated soil to the lagoon floor, there should
be no significant change in the mean concentration of !37cs in the flesh of
fish collected from Bikini
in the near future (other than a continuous
reduction from radioactive decay).
Any concentrations of !3/cs in the muscle
tissue of fish caught at the atoll in future years should fall below the upper
limit noted
in
the
last
8-year
period.
Hence,
future
dose
rates
to
-
STM
re
individuals from 137Cs in the fish-food pathway may be predicted with a
reasonable degree of certainty from a knowledge of the islands to be fished,
the consumption rate of reef and pelagic fish, and parts of the fish normally
eaten.
|
STRONTIUM-90 IN FISH
Concentrations of 90Sr were measured in the tissues from a small subset
of the fish,
primarily from the collections made in 1978.
Inspection of
Table 6 shows that most of the 99Sr accumulated by fish is, unlike 137¢s,
associated with non-edible parts such as bone and viscera.
In. surgeonfish,
goatfish, and snapper, most of the body burden of 29Sr is found in the bone
tissue.
The
high
In mullet, however, the viscera contains the major fraction of 90sr.
concentration of 90Sr
in
the viscera is
associated with the bottom sediments,
5000569
probably due
to
90Sr
which are ingested with food and are
15