FALLOUT CESIUM-137 IN CLAMS (RANGIA CUNEATA)

FROM THE NEUSE RIVER ESTUARY, NORTH CAROLINA

Douglas A. Wolfe
National Marine Fisheries Service, Center for Estuarine and Menhaden Research,
Beaufort, North Carolina 28516
ABSTRACT
The concentration of 13Cs from fallout was clctcrmjned for the soft tissues of Rangin
cuneata from the Trent-Ncusc estuary during 1965-1967. The 13Cs concentration in
Rangiu varied inversely as a logarithmic function of salinity in the estuary, but with a
lesser salinity dependence than rcportcd previously for 13Cs concentration factors in
Rang&z. An incrcnsing concentration gradient of 337Cs with increasing salinity in the estuary
was thercforc hypothesized and was confirmed by analysis of 37Cs in estuarine water of
varying salinity. Transport of 13Cs on sediments into cstuarics, coupled with ion-exchange
displacement of ls7Cs from the sediments at elevated salinities, is proposed to explain the
concentration gradient of lCs in the estuary.
Since r3Cs is an important fission prod-
uct occurring in fallout from nuclear
weapons tests and in effluents from. nu-
clear reactors, the accumulation of ccsium
by aquatic organisms has assumed con-
siderable significance. Marine organisms
generally concentrate cesium 3-30 times
over the levels in the surrounding water,
but in related freshwater spccics, conccn-
tration factors may bo higher by two or
three orders of magnitude (Polikarpov
1966). The accumulation of 137Cs by algae
( Gutknccht 1965a, b ) and by fish ( Kolch-
maincn and Nelson 1969) is directly rc-
lated to the 137Cs concentration in the
water only when the potassium content of
the water is constant. In accumulation cx-
pcriments in the laboratory, the conccn-
tration of radioccsium by crabs (Bryan
1961) and other marine invertcbratcs
(Bryan and Ward 1962; Bryan 1963a) and
by brackish water isopods and snails
( Bryan 1963a, b ) was approximately in-
versely proportional to the potassium con-
tent of the water. An inverse relationship
between ls7Cs concentration in plankton,
algae, and fish and potassium conccntra-
tion of water was found also in Finnish
lakes ( Kolehmaincn ct al. 1966). In cstu-
aries, where the salinity (and thus the
potassium content) somctimcs fluctuates
over a broad range, one might thcrcforc
expect bioaccumulation of ccsium to vary
widely even within a, single species.
Rangia cuneatu (Gray) is a lamelli-
branch mollusc which thrives in the well-
mixed unstratified shallows of the lower
Trent and Ncusc Rivers in salinities rang-
ing frolm less than 0.1%0 to more than 15%0.
The concentration of 137Cs from fallout
varied seasonally in Rang&z, with the max-
imum in May-June and the minimum in
Novcmbcr-Dccembcr. This seasonal pat-
tern corrcspondcd to the cyclic deposition
of fallout but was probably augmcntcd by
the seasonal variation of salinity in the
estuarinic zone of the rivers (Wolfe 1967).
In laboratory experiments Wolfe and Co-
burn (1970) showed that the accumulation
of ls7Cs by Rangia was rclatcd directly to
tcmperaturc and invcrscly to salinity. On
the basis of the results of that laboratory
study, and those of Bryan ( 1963n, b ), one
should cxpcct to find a greater range of
concentration for ls7Cs in Rangia than was
found over the salinity differential in the
Trent-Neuse estuary (Wolfe 1967; Wolfe
et al. 1969). The concentration and distri-
bution of ln7Cs in the water of the Trcnt-
Neusc estuary were thcrcfore investigated
and correlated with the data for Rangia.
This rcscarch was supported under
agrcemcnt AT(49-7)-5 between the Atomic
Energy Co8mmission and the Bureau of
Commercial Fisheries. I thank Dr. G. K.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPIIY
797 SEPTEMBER 1971, V. lG(5)
798
DOUGLAS A. WOLFE
FIG. 1. Location of Rangia sampling stations along the Trent-Neuse estuary in eastern North Carolina.
Ranges of measured salinity arc shown for each station.
Riel of the U.S. Naval Ordnance Labora-
tory for valuable consultatioas on the
preconccntration of 137Cs from cs tuarinc
waters and Dr. S. Kolehmaincn of the
Puerto Rico Nuclcar Center for his com-
ments on the manuscript. T. G. Roberts
and J. A. Baker helped in the fieldwork
and Mrs. T. A. Miner, Mrs. J, Lewis, and
Mrs. J. II. Brooks provided technical as-
sistance in the preparation and analysis of
samples.
METHODS AND MATERIALS
Rangia cuneuta were collected by raking
in shallow water near the shore at 6 sta-
tions along a 48-km stretch of the Trent-
Ncusc estuary, located in caster-n North
Carolina ( Fig. 1). The sampling area has
been dcscribcd previously in greater detail
(Wolfe and Schclskc 1969). Coincident
with the collection of clams at each sta-
tion, salinity and tcmpcrature of the water
wcrc determined with an electrodelcss in-
duction salinometer. Entire shell contents,
soft tissues and fluids, of Rangiu wcrc
dried, then ashcd at 45OC, and the ash
was analyzed for 200 min on a 4 x 4-inch
(10.2 cm2) NaI(T1) scintillation crystal in
a low-background shield coupled with a
512-channel analyzer (Nuclear Data, com-
puter series 130). Cesium-137 from fallout
and naturally occurring 40K were deter-
mined after spectral stripping of their
photopcaks (as the sum of five 20-keV
channels ) at 0.662 and 1.46 meV, rcspec-
tively (Wolfe 1967; Wolfe and Schelske
1969). Absolute activities wcrc determined
by comparisons with a ls7Cs refcrencc
standard (Nuclear-Chicago) and with rc-
agent-grade KC1 (Fisher Sci. Co.) for 40K.
Natural potassium was presumed to contain
0.0118% of 40K, or 830.77 pCi/g K (Burton
1965 ) .
Water samples wcrc collected at the sur-
f act from several points along the rivers,
including several of the Rangia stations.
Samples ( 90-150 liters ) were transported
in covered polycthylenc containers to the
laboratory in Bcaufort where, within 24
hr, they were strained through plankton
netting ( No. 10 mesh ) , then pumped
through three consecutive columns, each
containing 15 g Bio-rad KCF-1 cation ex-
change crystals (potassium hexacyanoco-
CESIUM-13 7 IN CLAMS
799
balt ferratc). Each 15-g polrtion was then
analyzed for gamma radiosactivity. The
ratio of lS7Cs retained by the first and
second columns was used toI calculate the
extraction cfficicncy of the first collumn
under the flow conditions exhibited by
each sample. The third column consist-
ently contained undetectable or very low
amounts of 137Cs. For 17 samples cxtrac-
tion efficiencies varied from 32-lOO%, with
a mean of 68 * 18% (SD), and appcarcd
independent of the salinity of the sample
(see Table 2). The 137Cs activity retained
on the first column was adjusted for the
extraction efficiency determined for that
particular sample.
CONCENTRATIONS OF 137CS IN
RANGIA CUNEATA
The mean concentration of 137Cs for the
77 samples of Rangh soft parts was 3.2 *
TABLE 1. Concant&ion of Js7Cs in Rangia cuneata
from the Trent-Neuse estuary, September 1965-
July 1967
Station
Samples
analyzecl
(No.)
Cesimn-137
(pCi/lOO g wet wt.)
Wilson Creek 15 5.1 I!I 2.2
Bricc Creek 12 4.0 + 1.6
Lewis Ferry 11 3.3 -I 1.4
Union Point 15 2.8 f 1.0
Pinccliff 16 1.9 + 0.3
Cedar Point 8 1.9 -I 0.5
Total 77 Mean 3.2 2 1.8
1.8 pCi per 100 g wet wt (Table 1). Mean
conccntratiolns of 137Cs decreased with the
downstream order of the station, or in
order of increasing average salinity. The
relationship of 137Cs concentration for all
samples of Rangin to the salinity of the
environmental water at time of capture is
illustrated in Fig. 2. (Eight of the analyses
Log Cs13 Concentration = 0.48 - 0.18 LOS Salinity
Wilson Creek A
Brice Creek l
Lewis Ferry l
Union Point *
Pinecliff l
Cedar Point l
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
0 5
SALINITY (960)
10 15
FIG. 2. Concentration of 13Cs in soft parts of the clam Rangia cuneata as a function of environmental
salinity at the time and place of sampling.
800 DOUGLAS A. WOLFE
included with the data of Table 1 are omit-
ted from Fig. 2 because salinity was n>ot
determined at the time of sample collec-
tion.) Linear regression analysis of the
logarithms od 337Cs concentration and sa-
linity produced the following expression,
with a correlation coefficient of -0.683#:
log ( ls7Cs concn) = 0.48 - 0.18 X
log ( salinity).
(1)
The salinity of thle estuarine water at a
particular time and place is probably not
a reliable criterion for predicting the 337Cs
content of Rangia, because of the natural
variability of salinity with tidal stage,
wind velocity and direction, and runoff
from rainfall. The level of 137Cs in clams
is undoubtedly much more stable than is
the salinity over short periods, and much
of the variability about the rcgrcssion lint
in Fig. 2 probably results directly from
short- term variability in salinity. Field
trips for collecting Rangia wcrc planned
at random, however, irrespective of the
tides and all but thle most foul weather
conditions. With the large number of
samples analyzed, the direction of the sa-
linity error is random, and the dcrivcd
regression is a valid representation of 137Cs
in clam soft parts as a function of the
mean measured salinity. Since the samples
were collected from shallow (<I5 m)
nearshorc locations where salinity s tratifi-
cation does not occur, the salinities mca-
surcd should correspond closely to those
salinities actually cxpcrienced by Rangia.
The logarithmic relation noted above for
1 Z7Cs concentrations in Rangia is similar
to that reported by Bryan (1963b, c) for
cesium concentration factors in estuarine
crustaceans and in an estuarine snail as a
function of tither salinity or potassium
content elf thlc water, He found, however,
a greater inverse depcndcncc of conccn-
tration factors on salinity; that is, the slope
for his data on concentration factors was
about -0.6, as compared to the slope of
-0.18 determined here fo,r actual 137Cs
concentrations in Rangia. In laboratory
experiments on the accumulation of 137Cs
by Rangia (Wolfe and Coburn 1970),
soft-tissue concentration factors varied in-
verscly as a logarithmic function of salin-
ity with a slope of -0.34.
LEVELS OF 4oK AND CONCENTRATION
FACTORS OF OK AND 137CS IN RANGZA
The concentration of 40K in the soft
tissues of R. cuneata was demonstrated
previously to depend on salinity in a lin-
car fashion (Wolfe 1967). Linear regres-
sion analysis of these data produced the
cqua tion :
pC,i 40K per
kg wet wt = 408.5 + 22.8 (salinity). (2)
Seawater of 36%0 salinity contains 324 pCi/
liter 40K and 390 mg/liter IS (Burton 1965),
or 9.0 pCi/liter OK per part per thousand
of salinity and 0.8308 pCi 40K per mg K.
The natural potassium content of Rangia
soft tissues is thus expressed by dividing
equation ( 2) by 0.8308, or:
mg K per
kg wet wt = 491.6 + 27.44 (salinity). (3)
Equation (3) gives a content elf about 519
mg K/kg at l%o salinity and about 766 mg
K/kg at 10%0, which are low compared to
values published for shellfish food items,
e.g., 204 mg/100 g wet wt in oysters and
240 mg/100 g wet wt in clams (Diem
1962). The Rangia samples included, holw-
ever, a large, but undetermined portion of
pallial fluid, which coatained potassium
at concentrations probably similar to those
of the cnvironmcntal water. For example,
if 56% oE the total analyzed wet weight
of Rangiu were comprised of pallial fluid,
the K content of the remaining drained
meats then would ble 1,180 mg/kg at l%o
and 1,308 mg/kg at lO%o. Also, marinc
bivalves typically contain much higher
concentrations of most ions, including K,
than do freshwater forms. Thus, Potts
(1958) found about 4,900 mg K/kg wet wt
in adductor muscle frosm Myths as com-
pared with about 720 mg K/kg of ad-
ductor muscle fro,m Anodunta.
A relationship for 40K oonccn tratioa fac-
tor and salinity was derived from equation
(2) above and the salinity dependence of
CESIUM-13 7 IN CLAMS 801
SALINITY (%,,)
FIG. 3. Concentration factors for potassium
( and Cs in Rangia czcneata as a function of
salinity at the time and place of sampling. Solitl
curve based on regression analysis of OK (57 val-
ues) in Rangia and OK content of seawater diluted
according to salinity values. The linear portion
cxtrapolatcs to a concentration factor of 1.0 at
salinity = 45% Dashed lint based on regression
analysis of 10 points shown, obtained by compar-
ina radioassays of Ran.da with those of residues
of evaporated seawater collected simultaneously.
@ -Cesium-137; O-Potassium-40.
4oK concentration in scawatcr (pCi 40K/
liter = 9.0 X salinity) :
c _ 408.5 + 22.8 (salinity)
P-
9.0 (salinity)
Exprcsscd in logarithmic form, equation
(4) b
ccomcs :
log (C, - 2.533) = 1.6570 - log (salinity). (5)
This cxprcssioa gives an essentially linear
relation on a log-log, basis bctwecn con-
centration factor and salinity from 0.01 to
10%0 (Fig. 3). Above lO%o, the deviation
from linearity incrcascs rapidly as the
hyperbolic cxprcssion bccomcs asymptotic
at Cp = 2.533, Dropping the -2.533 tcrrn
fro,m equation ( 5) makes the logarithms
of Cp and salinity inversely proportioaal
throughout the entire range of values and
suggcs ts that Rangia would bc isotonic
with respect to potassium at an cnviron-
mental salinity of 45%0 (see extrapolation
of linear portio,n of curve, Fig. 3).
To corroborate the relationship of equa-
tion (5), the concentration of 40K in
Rungia was compared directly with that
in water collected at the same time and
place as the clams. Forty liters of water
were collcctcd along with the clam sam-
plhes from Wilson C,reck, Union Point, and
Flanncr Beach on 6 July 1967 and again
on 20 September 1967. The water was
evaporated and the residual salts were
radioassayed for 40K and 137Cs. The very
low 137Cs activities in the September sam-
ples from the twos upstream stations (sa-
linities of 0.32 and 0.40%0, respectively)
were obscured by interfering radioisotopes
(prolbably in the 226Ra-decay chain), and
137Cs could not bc determined. The 40K
concentration factors dctcrmined from the
six water-clam co#mbinatio,ns fell close to
the relationship of equation (5), as did the
remaining four values for 137Cs, Linear
regression analysis of the logarithms oif all
10 analytical values, however, produced
the dashed lint in Fig,. 3, which intersects
the hypothetical dilution curve at salinity
= 1.3%0, Cp = 34, and suggests an isotonic
salinity of about 20%0.
CONCENTRATION FACTORS FOR 137CS
OBTAINED IN LABORATORY STUDIES
Wolfe and Coburn (1970) described ac-
cumulation experiments in which conccn-
tration factors for 137Cs in whole Rangia
were determined at various tcmpcraturcs
and salinities, From the proportions of
isotope in the shells and the soft parts at
the termination of each cxpcrimental com-
bination, the equilibrium concentration
factor for 137Cs in dam soft parts was
determined as a function of salinity and
temperature. The resultant relationships
are shown in Fig. 4, where the conccntra-
tion factolrs for 137Cs arc plo,tted as a
function of salinity for each of five expcti-
mental tcmpcraturcs. The concentration
factors determined expcrimcntally in the
laboratory (Fig. 4) arc similar to those
802
DOUGLAS A. WOLFE
SALINITY (%,)
FIG. 4. Equilibrium concentration factors for
lTs in soft parts of Rangia cuneata at five different
temperatures ( 5, 10, 15, 20 and ZSC), each as a
function of salinity. Calculated from data of Wolfe
and Coburn ( 1970).
calculated and measured for Fig. 3 only
in the salinity range 4-9%0 (Cp ca. 4-12).
The slopes of the experimentally derived
equations (Fig. 4) are -0.34 to -0.35,
whereas the slopes obtained for the two
relationships shown in Fig. 3 are -1.0 and
-1.32. For Potamopyrgus (whole snails,
including shell), Bryan ( 1963b) dcter-
mined for a similar relationship slopes of
about -0.58 for 137Cs and -0.88 for potas-
sium. If the salinity-dependence dcter-
mined by Bryan ( 1963b) and Wolfe and
Coburn (1970) is meaningful for 137Cs
concentration factors in R. cuneata in the
natural environment, any of these equa-
Station*
TABLE 2. Analyses of 1s7Cs in water from the Neuse River estuary
Date
c:P
Extraction
0
00 pCi/lOO litert efficiency
Bricc Creek
Union Point
Union Point
New Bern dockS
Fort Point
Fl anner Beach
Pinecliff
Pinecliff
Great Neck Point
Great Neck Point
Great Neck Point
Great Neck Point
Great Neck Point
Great Neck PointS
Canal
Cedar Point
Sportsman Vill.
Sportsman Vill.
Great Neck Point5
Wilson Creek
Union Point
New Bern dock
Flanner Beach
Flanner Beach
KCF-1 exchange
11 Mar 68 0.85
11 Mar 68 0.61
2 Apr 68 0.15
15 Aug 68 7.7
11 Mar 68 0.92
11 Mar 68 5.15
7 Mar 68 7.0
15 Mar 68 7.7
6 Mar 68 7.7
15 Mar 68 9.8
2 Apr 68 8.5
31 Jul 68 14.1
13 Aug 68 16.1
13 hug 68 16.1
14 Mar 68 11.6
6 Mar 68 8.9
6 Mar 68 10.0
14 Mar 68 10.5
31 Jul 68 14.1
Evaporation and direct counting
6 Jul 67 3.0
6 Jul 67 1.50
15 Aug 68 7.7
6 Jul 67 7.7
20 Scp 67 1.50
8.4 zk 3.3
14 + 6.2
12 I+ 2.4
37 zlz 0.9
6.6 2 2.0
51 + 4.8
39 + 3.6
51 Ifr: 3.9
41 ? 3.6
59 zk 3.9
34 + 2.7
72 k2.5
77 + 2.6
72 + 1.2
45 + 4.3
72 + 6.1
63 + 4.0
75 k 7.2
120 _+ 7.0
120 + 8.1
90 k 8.1
110 + 20
420 +20
46 I+ 7.7
0.62
0.45
0.87
-
1.00
0.60
0.65
0.70
0.75
0.60
0.77
0.68
0.92
-
0.61
0.45
0.71
0.32
0.88
* Listed in approximate downstream order.
t Shown with one-sigma counting error only.
4: Ion-exch;mge on KCF-1 performed on 820 liters in the field in conjunction with Dr. G. K. Riel using equipment de-
scribed by Riel nnd Duffy ( 1968 ) ; gamma spectrometry same as described for all samples.
3 After ncid treatment.
CESIU~M- 13 7 IN CLAMS
tions relating concentration factor to salin-
ity can bc used in conjunction with rcgrcs-
sion equatioa ( 1) relating 137Cs in Rangin
to salinity to predict the concentration of
137Cs in the water of the Neusc River cs-
tuary. Because the 137Cs concentration in
Rangia is less dcpendcnt on salinity (slope
of -0.18) than indicated by any of the
equations fofr concentration factor, the
137Cs content of the water is prcdictcd to
increase as a function of salinity, regard-
less of which equation is used.
CESIUM-1.7 7 IN WATER FROM TIIE
TRENT-NEUSE RIVER ESTUARY
Results are shown in Tab,le 2 for analy-
ses of 137Cs in water samples from various
stations in the two rivers, mostly during
spring and summer 1968. Soluble io,nic
137Cs was detcrmincd by pumping un-
trcatcd and unfiltcrcd water through KCF-
1 crystals as described in the methods
section or in sitzc as described by Riel and
Duffy ( 1968). In one case, 820 liters of
water wcrc pumped through KCF-1 in situ
while 139 liters of water from the same
place were transported back to the labora-
tory for the regular analytical proccdurc
(Great Neck Point, 13 August 1968). Re-
sults osf these rcplicatc analysts compared
favorably with each other (77 against 72
pCi/lOO liters). Soluble ionic 137Cs ranged
in concentration from 6.6-77 pCi/lOO liters
and increased with the salinity of the sam-
plc (Fig. 5).
Values obtained for soluble ionic 137Cs
by KCF-1 analysis were lower, by approxi-
matcly one order of magnitude, than the
values predicted from ls7Cs previously
found in the soft parts of R. cuneata and
any of the supposed rclcvant concentration
factors (Fig. 5). The water analyses wcrc
done, on an avcragc, about 20 months after
the analysts of Ran&z, so this discrepancy
could have arisen from the reduction of
fallout to the Trent-Ncusc watcrshcd cou-
pled with the loss of previously deposited
137Cs from the estuary during the interim
period between sampling the clams and
the water. The watcrshcd, river, and estu-
FIG. 5. Summary of predicted and found values
for concentration of 13Cs in estuarine waters of the
Trent and Neusc Rivers. Solid lines-predicted
from equation ( 1) in text and data of Wolfe and
Coburn ( 1970) for 5, 15, and 25C; dashed line-
predicted from equations ( 1) and (5); dotted lint
-predicted from equation ( 1) and the dashed line
in Fig. 3. O-Values found by evaporation of
water samples ( Table 2 ) ; 8 -values found by
KCF-1 exchange; *-KCF-1 exchange after acid
treatment ( Table 2).
ary constitute an extremely dynamic and
mobile system in which the concentration
of 137Cs in the estuarine water depends on
the input of fallout to the watcrshcd, the
rctcntion of 137Cs in runoff, sediment load
and characteristics, river flow and tidal
flushing, and radioactive decay. Insight
on 137Cs in the Trent-Ncusc estuary can
bc gained from assolciatcd information on
gSr, which is deposited at 0.67 times the
rate of ls7Cs deposition. For the three
consecutive I&month periods beginning
Septcmbcr 1965, the annual deposition of
OSr fallout at Charleston, South Caro,lina
(33 N), decreased from 1.91 to 1.12 to
0.79 mCi per square milt ( 2.59 km)
( Hardy and Rivcra 1970). Dcspitc this
dccrcascd input, however, the cumulative
deposit of OSr was essentially constant in
the northern hemisphere ( Volchok 1968))
and the average annual concentration of
gOSr in Atlantic surface waters of 30-40
N lat rcmaincd at 3540 dpm/lOO liter for
the 3 years 1965-1967 ( Bowcn et al, 1968).
804 DOUGLAS A. WOLFE
If 137Cs is efficiently retained by the tcr-
rcstrial scdimcnts and leached slowly into
the runoff of the Trcnt-Neuse watcrshcd
as in other watcrshcds (Yamagata 1961),
it seems unlikely under these conditions
that the lS7Cs concentration in Trcnt-N&se
estuarine water would dccrcasc signifi-
cantly between early 1966 and mid-1967.
Values for 137Cs concentration obtained
by evaporating the water sample and
counting the residual salts are higher than
those obtained via KCF-1 treatment (Table
2 and Fig. 5). This result suggests that
part of the 37Cs in the water column is
unavailable for KCF-1 adsorption. The
137Cs may, for example, bc adsorbed olnto
very finely divided suspended clay or
other particles o,r might be involved in an
organic ligand-complex. Thcsc possibili-
ties were further confirmed by comparison
of KCF-1 extraction of lS7Cs from wat,er
with and without acid treatment. Conccn-
trated HNOn was mixed ( 26.5 ml/liter )
with half of a 200-liter water sample col-
lectcd 31 July 1968 at Great Neck Polint,
and after 24 hr the acidified and raw sam-
plcs were pumped through KCF-I resin.
After acidification, the water had 120
pCi/lOO liter soluble ionic 187Cs, compared
to 72 with no treatment (Table 2). The
prcscnce in Neuse River water of lR7Cs in
cxccss of that analyzable by KCF-1 could
climinatc much of the apgarcnt discrcp-
ancy between predicted and mcasurcd
137Cs concentrations (Fig. 5) and improve
the overall similarity of concentration fac-
tors for llK and In7Cs (which one would
expect from the results of Bryan 1963b).
Concentration factors for la7Cs in Ran&z
arc parallel to, and probably slightly
higher than, those for K, when total 137Cs
in the water is selected as the basis for
the concentration factor. If soluble ionic
137Cs is used as the basis folr concentration
factors, lR7Cs factors in Rungia arc about
,3--10 times as high as arc factors for K.
The low conccntratioa factors ob taincd
under laboratory conditions ( Wolfe and
Coburn 1970) seem to have little relevance
to lS7Cs distribution in the natural envi-
ronment, prolbably because tracer 137Cs
was added as the soluble chloride to the
aquaria, the water was continuously fil-
tcrcd, and the clams were not fed.
SEDIMENT-WATER INTERACTIONS
ON 37CS DISTRIBUTION
Ion-exchange processes involving 137Cs
on sediments and suspcndcd particulate
material may contribute to the increasing
concentration gradient of lS7Cs in the estu-
arine water. Ccsium-137 is very strongly
adsorbed onto soils (Davis 1963); only
about 26% of annual terrestrial deposition
of lS7Cs is found in runoff (Yamagata
1961) . Cesium-137 was less effectively
adsorbed onto scdimcnt, however, from
scawatcr than from freshwater, bccausc of
competition from the major cationic con-
stitucnts of seawater, notably Ca2+, Mg2+,
Na+, and K+ (Cheng and Hamaguchi
1968). Ccsium can also bc displaced from
soils by these ions ( Davis 1963). It seems
probable, thcrcfore, that the concentration
gradient of lS7Cs could arise from a shift-
ing distribution of 137Cs between the dis-
sSolvcd ions and the atoms adso#rbcd onto
bottom scdimcnts and suspended matter.
Thus sediments with adsorbed 137Cs could
be carried by the rivers into the estuaries,
where higher concentrations of dissolved
ions cause displaccmcnt of the lS7Cs with
a concomitant increase of ln7Cs conccntra-
tion in the water. If the concentration of
fallout lS7Cs in surface waters #of the ocean
wcrc somewhat higher than in associated
freshwater runoff, an increasing gradient
might also bc produced by simple mixing.
But the values repolrtcd here for cstuarinc
waters of intermediate salinity are higher
than thosc reported for freshwater or
ocean water, adding crcdencc to1 the hy-
pothesized sediment-transport of 137Cs. As
the intcrmcdiate-salinity estuarine waters
become mixed to full-strength Noccanic sa-
linity, the 137C,s would bc diluted again
to the lower concentrations found in the
surface waters of the ocean.
CESIUM-13 7 IN CLAMS
805
REFERENCES
BOWEN, V. T., V. E. NOSHKIN, I-1. L. VOLCI-IOK,
AND T. T. SUGIHARA. 1968. Fallout stron-
tium 90 in Atlantic Ocean surface waters,
p, 1-2-I-65. In Health Safety Lab. Fallout
Program Quart. Sum. Rep. Jul 1, 1968.
HASL-197, USAEC.
BRPAN, G. W. 1961. The accumulation of ra-
dioactive caesium in crabs. J. Mar. Biol.
Ass. U.K. 41: 55~1-575.
-. 1963a. The accumulation of radioac-
tive caesium by marine invertebrates. J,
Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. 413: 519-539.
-. 1963b. The accumulation of 13Cs by
brackish water invertebrates and its relation
to the regulation of potassium and sodium.
J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. 43: 541-565.
-. 1963~. The accumulation of radio-cae-
sium by marine and brackish water invcs-
tebrates, p. 85-93. In Nuclear detonations
and marine radioactivity. Norw. Def. Rcs.
Estab., Kjeller, Norway.
-, AND E. WARD. 1962,. Potassium mctab-
olism and the accumulation of m7caesium by
decapod Crustacea. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K.
42 : 199-241.
BURTON, J. D. 1965. Radioactive nuclidcs in
sea water, marine sediments and marine or-
ganisms, p. 425-475. In J. I?. Riley and
G. Skirrow [ eds.], Chemical oceanography,
v. 2. Academic.
CHENG, IL-S., AND H. HAMAGUCI-LI. 1968. Stud-
ies on the adsorption of radioisotopes on
marine sediments. 1. IIealth Phys. 14:
353-363.
DAVIS, J. J. 1963. Ccsium and its relationships
to potassium in ecology, p. 539-556. In V.
Schultz and A. W. Klcmcnt [eds.], Radio-
ecology. Reinhold.
DIEM, K. 1962. Documenta Geigy. Sci. Tables,
6th ed., p. 512. Geigy Pharm.
GUTKNECIIT, J. 1965a. Uptake and retention
of cesium 137 and zinc 65 by seaweeds.
Limnol. Oceanogr. 10 : 58-66,.
-. 1965b. Ion distribution and transpol-t
in the red marine alga, Gradaria foliifera.
Biol. Bull. 129: 495-508.
IIARDY, E. P., JH., AND J. RIVERA. 1970. In
Health Safety Lab. Fallout Program Quart.
Sum. Rep. Sep 1, 1969 through Dee 1, 1969.
Appendix, p. A67-A68. IIASL-217 APP.,
USAEC.
KOLEXMAINEN, S., E. H.XSXNEN, AND J. K. MJET-
TINEN. 1966. 137Cs in fish, plankton and
plants in Finnish lakes during 1964-5, p.
913-919. In B. Aberg and F. I. IIungate
[cds.], Radioccological concentration proc-
esscs. Pergamon.
-7
AND D. J. NELSON. 1968. The balances
of 197Cs, stable cesium, and the feeding rates
of bluegill ( Lepomis macro&-us Raf. ) in
White Oak Lake. Oak Ridge Nat, Lab., Oak
Ridge, Tenn. ORNL-4445. 114 p.
POLIKARPOV, G. G. 1966. Radioccology of
aquatic organisms. Reinhold. 314 p.
POTTS, W. T. W. 1958. The inorganic and
amino acid composition of some lamclli-
branch muscles. J. Exp. Biol. 35: 749-764.
RIEL, G. K., AND D. DUPBY. 1968. Methods
for measuring the concentration of radioiso-
topcs in water. ISA Preprint 68-827, Annu.
Conf. Exhibit, Instr. Sot. Amer. 4 p.
VOLCHOK, I-I. L. 1968. Woddwide deposition
of Sr-90 through 1967, p. 1-2-I-13. In
Health Safety Lab. Fallout Program Quart.
Sum. Rep. Ott 1, 1968. HASL-200, USAEC.
WOLFE, D. A. 1967. Seasonal variation of cae-
sium-137 from fallout in a clam, Rangia
czmcata Gray. Nature 215 : 1270-1271.
-, AND C. 13. COBUIXN, JR. 1970. Influ-
ence of salinity and tcmperaturc on the
accumulation of cesium-137 by an estuarine
clam under laboratory conditions. IIe#alth
Phys. 18: 499-505.
J.-A. LEWIS, AND J. H. BROOKS. 1969.
Esiuarine biogcochemistly of cesium 137, p.
13-17. In Progr. Rep. Bur. Commer. Fish.
Radiobiol. Lab., Beaufort, N.C., fiscal year
1968. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Circ. 309.
-, AND C. L. %XJ3LSKE. 1968. Accumula-
tion of fallout radioisotopes by bivalve mol-
luscs from the lower Trcnt and Neuse Rivers,
p. 493-504. Im D. J. Nelson and F. C.
Evans [cds.], Symp. Radioecology, Proc. 2ad
Nat. Symp. CONF-670503.
YAMAGATA, N. 1961. The concentration of Sr
and CZ?~ in land waters in Japan. U.N.
DOC. A/AC.82/G/L.690.