The distribution of radiotoxic 137Cs concentrations in seaweed and mussel species in the Mediterranean Sea

Akbar Abbasi; Nouf Almousa; Hesham M H Zakaly

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115737

The distribution of radiotoxic ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in seaweed and mussel species in the Mediterranean Sea

Mar Pollut Bull. 2023 Dec:197:115737. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115737. Epub 2023 Oct 31.

Authors

Akbar Abbasi¹, Nouf Almousa², Hesham M H Zakaly³

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Art and Science, University of Kyrenia, Kyrenia, TRNC, via Mersin 10, Turkey; Physics Department, Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta, 99628 North Cyprus via Mersin 10, Turkey. Electronic address: akbar.abbasi@kyrenia.edu.tr.
² Department of Physics, College of Science, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia.
³ Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut Branch, Egypt; Istinye University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Computer Engineering Department, Istanbul 34396, Turkey; Institute of Physics and Technology, Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia. Electronic address: h.m.zakaly@gmail.com.

PMID: 37918140
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115737

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the ¹³⁷Cs activity concentrations in various seaweed and mussel samples from the North East Mediterranean Sea, including the brown algae (Dictyota dichotoma) and oarweed (Laminaria digitata), and mussel species (Haliotis asinina, Mytilus edulis and Mytilus galloprovinciali). The ¹³⁷Cs activity concentration in seaweed species exhibited varying levels, ranging from 84.20 ± 1.82 to 236.05 ± 5.72 mBq kg^-1 fresh weight (fw) for oarweed, and 106.29 ± 2.26 to 252.38 ± 6.04 mBq kg^-1 fw for brown algae. The ¹³⁷Cs value in mussel species were between 12.94 ± 0.51-101.84 ± 1.35 mBq kg^-1 fw for M. galloprovincialis, 15.49 ± 0.58-71.52 ± 1.16 mBq kg^-1 fw for M. edulis, and 10.36 ± 0.11-69.13 ± 1.34 mBq kg^-1 fw for H. asinine. When comparing the ¹³⁷Cs concentration in seaweed and mussel species, the average concentration in seaweeds was approximately four times higher than that in mussels. This significant difference in radioisotope concentration highlights the potential for higher bioaccumulation of ¹³⁷Cs in seaweeds compared to mussels.

Keywords: Mediterranean Sea; Mussel species; Pollution; Radiotoxic (137)Cs; Seaweed species.

MeSH terms

Animals
Mediterranean Sea
Mytilus edulis*
Mytilus*
Seaweed*

Supplementary concepts

Laminaria digitata