Vertical distribution of 241Am in the southern Baltic Sea sediment profiles

Klaudia Block; Jixin Qiao; Agata Zaborska; Dagmara Strumińska-Parulska

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116305

Vertical distribution of ²⁴¹Am in the southern Baltic Sea sediment profiles

Mar Pollut Bull. 2024 Apr 8:202:116305. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116305. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Klaudia Block¹, Jixin Qiao², Agata Zaborska³, Dagmara Strumińska-Parulska⁴

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Toxicology and Radiation Protection, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland.
² Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark.
³ Marine Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Science, Powstańców Warszawy 55, 81-712 Sopot, Poland.
⁴ Laboratory of Toxicology and Radiation Protection, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 63, 80-308 Gdańsk, Poland. Electronic address: dagmara.struminska@ug.edu.pl.

PMID: 38593714
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116305

Abstract

The contamination of the Baltic Sea with radioactive substances occurred due to the global fallout of atmospheric nuclear weapon tests and the Chernobyl disaster. The knowledge of ²⁴¹Am in the sediments of the Baltic Sea is limited. Thus, this study aimed to determine ²⁴¹Am in sediment cores collected from the southern Baltic Sea. Time-based distributions were derived from age-depth profiles using the ²¹⁰Pb dating method and further corroborated by ¹³⁷Cs profiles. The activities of ²⁴¹Am were measured by alpha spectrometry after radiochemical purification. The results show divergences in the concentrations of ²⁴¹Am at the local level, varying from 0.017 ± 0.001 Bq·kg^-1 at the Gotland Basin station to 3.19 ± 0.23 Bq·kg^-1 in the Gdańsk Basin. These findings enhance our understanding of the radioactive contamination levels in the Baltic Sea and serve as a crucial reference dataset for future assessments and management strategies to mitigate the environmental impact of radionuclides in the region.

Keywords: Americium (241)Am; Chernobyl accident; Nuclear weapon tests; Radioactive contamination.