Assessment of 210Po and 210Pb in marine biota of the Mallipattinam ecosystem of Tamil Nadu, India

To provide baseline data on background radiation levels for the future assessment of the impact of nuclear and thermal power stations, a systematic study was carried out in the Mallipattinam ecosystem of Tamil Nadu, India. Mallipattinam is located between the Kudankulam and Kalpakkam nuclear power plants and near to Tuticorin thermal power plant. Water, sediments, seaweeds, crustaceans, molluscs, and fish were collected to measure the concentrations of 210Po and 210Pb. The concentrations of 210Po and 210Pb in most samples are comparable to values reported worldwide. In fish, the concentrations of 210Po and 210Pb are in the range 16–190 Bq kg−1 and 8–153 Bq kg−1, respectively. The concentration factors of 210Po and 210Pb for the biotic components ranges from 103 to 106.