Application of molluscs for radioecological monitoring of the Chernobyl outburst

Accumulation of radionuclides was studied in molluscs from the territories polluted by the Chernobyl outburst. In addition to radiochemical evaluation of 90Sr, a simple method of beta-radiometry of shells was applied which allowed processing of extensive samples and mapping of contamination of large territories: the Dnieper drainage area and the Kiev administrative region. Pre-Hiroshima and pre-Chernobyl radioactivity was investigated in museum collections. Differences in 90Sr accumulation in molluscs of different genera were demonstrated for freshwater and terrestrial snails, an especially high accumulation factor was found in Helix. Indices of relative accumulation were calculated treating Lymnaea stagnalis as a standard. All the measurements were recalculated to this standard in order to provide comparisons between sampling sites disregarding collected species and to reduce variance before mapping. Based on shell beta-activity measurements, the average accumulation factor for 90Sr in Lymnaea compared to its concentration in the river water was about 5000, its transfer factor compared to the soil contamination was about 0.1 m2 kg−1, figures for 137Cs were smaller by an order of magnitude. Inverse dependence between free calcium content in the environment and the transfer factor was demonstrated, as well as a difference in 90Sr/137Cs ratio in molluscs collected on different tracks of Chernobyl pollution. Monitoring the biologically accessible and biologically active fraction of 90Sr contamination, the shell beta-activity above 15 kBq kg−1 indicates a dangerous level of contamination for the human population.