U.S. "Mussel Watch" Program : transuranic element data from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1976-1983

Abstract

Bivalves (Mytilus edulis, Mytilus californianus, Crassostrea virginica and Ostrea equestris) were collected once per year during 1976, 1977, and 1978 along the United States coast and analyzed for 239,240 Pu, 241Am and 137Cs as part of the U. S. Mussel Watch program. Monthly samples were collected during 1976-1980 from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island and Bodega Head, California and analyzed for 239,240 Pu, 241Am , and 137Cs. There is no evidence in the data for systematic regional or local elevated concentrations of radionuclides as a result of releases from the nuclear fuel cycle. Elevated concentrations of 239,240 Pu in mussels from the central California coast are due to uptake from upwelled water fed by North Pacific water which has elevated 239,240 Pu from input of nuclear weapons test fallout. Monthly fluctuations in radionuclide concentrations in the Narragansett Bay mussels appear to be primarily influenced by spawning. The slight monthly fluctuations in the radionuclide concentrations for the Bodega Head mussels are less coherent from year to year compared to Narragansett Bay although 239,240 Pu may be influenced by upwelling season. Limited data on transplants of mussels as well as mussel data from the Ebro estuary on the Spanish coast and from the Irish Sea are also reported.