Radionuclide Potential of Holocene Sediments in the West of Marmara Sea (Turkey)

Abstract

Radionuclides that cause radioactive pollution descend to the bottom in marine and waterenvironments such as heavy metals and accumulate in bottom sediments. It is useful to determine theradionuclides in these environments to control the radionuclide release and its damage. Radioactivepollution can harm people’s life directly or through the food chain. In this study, natural and artificialradionuclide values were measured in Recent sediment samples taken from the seabed in the westernpart of the Marmara Sea. Gamma spectrometry method was used in radionuclide examinations. Ingamma spectrometry studies of sediments, values of radionuclides (40K, 137Cs, 226Ra, 54Mn, 95Z, and232Th) were determined. Sea depths where 18 analyzed seafloor sediments are taken vary between 15-50 m. The determined radionuclide concentration activity values of the study area are 137Cs (0.9 - 9.4(Bq / kg)), 232Th (18.9 - 86 (Bq / kg)), 226Ra (10 - 50 (Bq / kg)), 40K (24.4 - 670 (Bq / kg)), 54Mn(0.71-0.9 (Bq / kg)) and 95Zr (0.18 - 0.19 (Bq / kg)). These values were correlated with the UnitedNations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). The 226Ra series, 232Thseries, and 40K radionuclides accumulate naturally, and their concentrations increase gradually due toanthropogenic impurities. 226Ra values obtained across the study areas are within normal limitsaccording to UNSCEAR values. 40K and 232Th values were higher than UNSCEAR values in all locations.137Cs (0.9 - 9.4 (Bq / kg)) from almost all locations reveals a risky situation in terms of ambientconditions because this element cannot be found in the natural environment and can be foundartificially as an end of radioactivity.