ARTEtn
It has been known for many years that iodine is present
in the sea and in a majority of the algae
(8); in Asparagopsis
PitTees eenseb ER
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iodine constitutes 0.092 per cent of the dry matter
(2).
Labora-
tory experiments have indicated that certain algae will concen~
trate zi3} from sea water (3, 4, 7).
The observations made at
Eniwetok during the present investigations support these findings
since the yi3t concentration in Asparagopsis was approximately
18,000 times that of the surrounding water,
(the total activity
of the water was 24,700 d/m/g and the activity due to zi3t in
the algae was 30,000,000 ad/m/g.
The contribution of yi} to the
total activity of a fission products mixture at 10 days is 6.8
per cent; therefore, assuming the ratio to be the same, the
activity in the water due to yi3} was 1,680 d/m/g.
Thus the
concentration factor for yi3t by the algae was 17,900).
iodine isotopes are considered,
If other
this figure would probably be
higher,
The role of iodine in the physiology of the algae is uncertain, but it has been detected as mineral iodide
as the iodo-amino acid,
iodotryosine
(3,
6).
(5,
6) as well
It is now generally
accepted that iodine occurs in both forms and that the ratio of
the two varies in the different species of algae (3).
The ab-
sorption of yi3t has been shown to be associated with respiration
(4), since its uptake in Ascophyllum, a brown alga, decreases
when nitrogen is used in place of oxygen.
The specimens of
por Ae