Naturally occurring radionuclides assessment in the Arctic

• Naturally occurring radionuclides (NORs), primarily 210Po, accumulates in seafood, marine, and terrestrial mammals, which are an important part of the traditional Arctic diet. Arctic seafood plays an important role in the worldwide seafood industry. NORs were measured in glaciers from Svalbard, the Arctic Ocean, surface seawater and sediments from Norwegian marine areas, seabirds from Greenland, seafood and marine mammals from the Nordic region, Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Canada, terrestrial mammals from Greenland, and lake sediments in northernmost Finland. Outdoor 222Rn was measured in Finland, Canada, and Norway and atmospheric 210Pb, 212Pb, and 7Be were measured in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Canada. Deposited 210Pb and 7Be were measured in Sweden and Finland. Glaciers and marine sediment results show oil and gas, coal combustion, and ore mining as anthropogenic sources. NORs are long-range transported via atmospheric and oceanic currents in the Arctic. 210Pb has a long atmospheric residence time, especially in winter. 228Ra activities in the Transpolar Drift approximately doubled between 2007 and 2015, indicating that climate-driven changes may be increasing the release of shelf-derived elements to the open Arctic Ocean. Results showed no effect of climate change on 210Pb deposition in sediments in Lake Kevojarvi in northernmost Finland. 210Po is the major contributor to the annual effective dose via seafood and marine and terrestrial mammal consumption in the Arctic population, far exceeding dose contributions from 137Cs, 226Ra, 228Ra, and 210Pb. 210Po absorbed dose rates to studied biota are several orders of magnitude lower than the recommended dose rate screening value of 10 µGy h-1. NORs atmospheric results follow an annual cycle, which is mainly driven by seasonal weather and climate changes. Understanding the sources and associated doses from NORs is necessary to assess risks and public perception of risks, support science-based decision-making, and policy development engaging public and Indigenous peoples.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

NORs sources

marine

terrestrial

atmospheric

long-range transport

outreach

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)