Plutonium and americium in fish, shellfish and seaweed in the Irish environment and their contribution to dose

Plutonium and americium activity concentrations in fish and shellfish landed in Ireland in the period 1988 to 1997 are presented. Activity concentrations in fish are low and often below detection limits, while those in mussels and oysters sampled on the northeast coast show no significant signs of decline. The estimated doses to hypothetical typical and heavy seafood consumers remain below 1 μSv yr-1 (committed effective dose). Plutonium activity concentrations measured in Fucus vesiculosus around the Irish coastline have not fallen appreciably in the ten year period between 1986 and 1996. Furthermore, the mean 238Pu/239,240Pu ratio of 0.17±0.05 in Fucus vesiculosus from the west coast of Ireland demonstrates the increasing significance of Sellafield-derived plutonium in those waters