Pre-assessment of dose rates of 134Cs, 137Cs, and 60Co for marine biota from discharge of Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant, China

• Pre-assessment for biota dose rates from Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant was made.
• The site-specific transfer parameters were obtained by neutron activation analysis.
• The dose rates of 134Cs, 137Cs, and 60Co to the organisms were <0.001 μGy h−1.

Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant to be built in China was selected as a case for the dose pre-assessment for marine biota in this study. The concentrations of Cs and Co in organisms (turbot, yellow croaker, swimming crab, abalone, sea cucumber, and sea lettuce), seawater, and bottom sediment sampled on-site were measured by neutron activation analysis, and the site-specific transfer parameters (concentration ratios and distribution coefficients) of Cs and Co were calculated. 134Cs, 137Cs, and 60Co activity concentrations in the organisms and the sediment at the site were calculated with the site-specific transfer parameters and the anticipated activity concentrations in the liquid effluent of the nuclear power plant. The ERICA tool was used to estimate the dose rates of 134Cs, 137Cs, and 60Co to the selected organisms based on the biological models developed. The total dose rates of 134Cs, 137Cs, and 60Co to the six organisms were all <0.001 μGy h−1.