Abstract
Radiochemoecological approach has been developed to evaluate a maximum allowable discharge of pollutants into marine environments. It combines assessment of the capability of seawater for self-purification against the nuclear and non-nuclear pollutants, and their toxicity. The rate of decontamination of the waters is estimated from the time-series data on concentration of the fallout radionuclides, both soluble ( 90Sr , 137Cs ) and particle-reactive (239+240Pu). A simple logistic model was developed to describe the effect of self-purification on pollutants concentration that is limited by the maximum allowable concentration (MAC). It is shown that the rate of pollutant discharge into the water body should be decreased when the contamination level has reached exactly ½ MAC. An example of such computation was illustrated regarding the pollution of the Black Sea waters with mercury. The results have showed that the Black Sea assimilation capacity is nearly 40 ton Hg per year, while the Danube discharges alone more than 60 t year−1 mercury, pointing the necessity of an immediate reduction of the Black Sea contamination with this hazardous pollutant.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Agre AL, Korogodin VI (1960) On the distribution of radioactive contamination in the non-flow-through water body. Med Radiol 1:67–73 (Russian)
Anderson RF, Fleisher MQ, LeHuray AP (1989) Concentration, oxidation state, and particulate flux of uranium in the Black Sea. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 53:2215–2224
Bogdanova AK (1959) Water exchange through the Bosporus Strait and its role in the mixing of the Black Sea waters. Proc Sevastopol Biol Stat 12:401–420 (Russian)
Buesseler KO, Benitez CR (1994) Determination of mass accumulation rates and sediment radionuclide inventories in the deep Black Sea. Deep-Sea Res I 41(11/12):1605–1615
Buesseler KO, Livingston HD, Casso SA (1991) Mixing between oxic and anoxic waters of the Black Sea as traced by Chernobyl cesium isotopes. Deep-Sea Res 38(Suppl 2):S72–S745
Calvert SE, Karlin RE, Toolin LJ et al (1991) Low organic carbon accumulation rates in Black Sea—sediments. Nature 350:692–695
Crusius J, Anderson RF (1991) Immobility of 210Pb in Black Sea sediments. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 55:327–333
Egorov VN, Povinec PP, Polikarpov GG et al (1999) 90Sr and 137Cs in the Black Sea after the Chernobyl NPP accident: inventories, balance and tracer applications. J Environ Radioact 43:137–155
Egorov VN, Gulin SB, Polikarpov GG et al (2010) Black Sea. In: Atwood DA (ed) Radionuclides in the environment. Wiley, Chichester, pp 430–452
EU Parliamentary Assembly (2008) The fight against harm to the environment in the Black Sea. Report of Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs, 23 June 2008 (20th Sitting), Doc. 11632, Recommendation 1837, F-67075 Strasbourg
Florou H, Kritidis P, Vosniakos F et al (2002) Dispersion of 137Cs in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea: the time evolution in relation to the sources and pathways. J Environ Protect Ecol 3(1):30–36
GESAMP (1990) The state of the marine environments. In: Reports and studies. GESAMP, 39, UNEP, New York
Gulin SB (2000a) Recent changes of biogenic carbonate deposition in anoxic sediments of the Black Sea: sedimentary record and climatic implication. Mar Environ Res 49(4):319–328
Gulin SB (2000b) Seasonal changes of 234Th scavenging in surface water across the western Black Sea: an implication of the cyclonic circulation patterns. J Environ Radioact 51(3):335–347
Gulin SB, Egorov VN (2013) Self-purification of seawater: a measure for environmental regulation. In: White MR (ed) Seawater: geochemistry, composition and environmental impacts. Nova Science Publishers, New York, pp 93–126
Gulin SB, Aarkrog A, Polikarpov GG et al (1997) Chronological study of 137Cs input to the Black sea deep and shelf sediments. Radioprotect 32(C2):257–262
Gulin SB, Polikarpov GG, Egorov VN et al (2002) Radioactive contamination of the north-western Black Sea sediments. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 54(3):541–549
Gulin SB, Polikarpov GG, Martin J-M (2003) Geochronological reconstruction of 137Cs transport from the Coruh river to the SE Black Sea: comparative assessment of radionuclide retention in the mountainous catchment area. Cont Shelf Res 23:1811–1819
Gulin SB, Egorov VN, Polikarpov GG et al (2012) General trends in radioactive contamination of the marine environment from the Black Sea to Antarctic Ocean. In: Burlakova EB, Naydich VI (eds) The lessons of Chernobyl: 25 years later. Nova Science Publishers, New York, pp 281–299
Gulin SB, Egorov VN, Polikarpov GG et al (2013a) Isotopes in hydrology, marine ecosystems and climate change studies. In: Proceedings of international symposium, vol 2, Monaco 27.03.-2.04.2011; IAEA Vienna, pp 535
Gulin SB, Mirzoyeva NYu, Egorov VN et al (2013b) Secondary radioactive contamination of the Black Sea after Chernobyl accident: recent levels, pathways and trends. J Environ Radioact 124:50–56
Gulin SB, Egorov VN, Duka MS et al (2015) Deep-water profiling of 137Cs and 90Sr in the Black Sea: a further insight into dynamics of the post-Chernobyl radioactive contamination. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 304(2):779–783
Hay BJ, Honjo S, Kempe S et al (1990) Interannual variability in particle flux in the southwestern Black Sea. Deep-Sea Res 37(6):911–928
Izrael YuA, Tsiban AV (1983) About assimilation capacity of the World ocean. Proc Acad Sci USSR 272(3):702–705 (Russian)
Korogodina VL, Korogodin VI, Kutlakhmedov YA (1996) Radiocapacity: prognosis of pollution after nuclear accidents. In: Proceedinga of IX international congress on radiation protection (IRPA9), IAEA Vienna
Kutlakhmedov Y, Korogodin V, Rodina V et al (2006) Radiocapacity: characteristic of stability and reliability of biota in ecosystems. In: Radiation risk estimates in normal and emergency situations, NATO Security through Science Series, pp 175–185
Nielsen SP, Lüning M, Ilus E et al (2010) Baltic Sea. In: Atwood DA (ed) Radionuclides in the environment. Wiley, Chichester, pp 415–436
Osvath I, Egorov V, Gulin S et al (2007) What can radiotracers tell us about the fate of Black Sea contaminants? Rapp du 38-e de la SIESM 38: 20
Polikarpov GG (1966) Radioecology of aquatic organisms. Reinhold, New York
Polikarpov GG, Egorov VN (1986) Marine dynamic radiochemoecology. Energoatomizdat, Moscow (Russian)
Sanchez A, Gastaud J, Noshkin V et al (1991) Plutonium oxidation states in the southwestern Black Sea: evidence regarding the origin of the cold intermediate layer. Deep-Sea Res 38:845–853
Stokozov NA, Buesseler KO (1999) Mixing model for the NW Black Sea using Sr-90 and salinity as tracers. J Environ Radioact 43(2):173–186
Timofeeff-Ressovsky NV (1957) Application of rays and emitters for experimental biocenology. Botanic J (USSR) 42(2):161–194 (Russian)
Tsuchiya K, Harashima S (1965) Lead exposure and the derivation of maximum allowable concentrations and threshold limit values. Br J Ind Med 22(3):181–186
UNEP (2002) Global mercury assessment, overview of existing and future national actions, including legislation, relevant to mercury. UNEP, New York
Wei CL, Murray JW (1991) 234Th/238U disequilibria in the Black Sea. Deep-Sea Res 38(Suppl. 2):855–873
Yücel M, Moore WS, Butler IB et al (2012) Recent sedimentation in the Black Sea: new insights from radionuclides and sulfur isotopes. Deep-Sea Res I 66:103–113
Zaitsev YP, Mamaev V (1997) Marine biological diversity in the Black Sea. A study of change and decline. United Nations Publications, New York
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gulin, S.B., Egorov, V.N. (2016). Radioactive Tracers in the Black Sea: A Tool for Environmental Assessment and Ecological Regulation. In: Korogodina, V., Mothersill, C., Inge-Vechtomov, S., Seymour, C. (eds) Genetics, Evolution and Radiation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48838-7_25
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48838-7_25
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-48837-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-48838-7
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)