TY - JOUR
T1 - 129I in Swedish rivers
T2 - Distribution and sources
AU - Kekli, A.
AU - Aldahan, A.
AU - Meili, M.
AU - Possnert, G.
AU - Buraglio, N.
AU - Stepanauskas, R.
N1 - Funding Information:
Financial support for this study was provided by the Swedish Radiation Protection Institute (SSI), the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (NV) and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
PY - 2003/6/20
Y1 - 2003/6/20
N2 - We analyzed the concentration of 129I in the water of 26 rivers covering most of the runoff from Sweden, with the aim of assessing current contamination levels, distribution patterns and potential sources in freshwater systems of northern Europe. The results show relatively high values (up to 1.4×109 atoms l-1), steeply decreasing levels with increasing latitude and a positive correlation with Cl concentration and other chemical parameters. The 129I concentrations observed in south Sweden are probably the highest ever recorded in rivers without any direct discharge from a nuclear installation. The strong latitudinal dependence suggests a northward dilution and possibly depletion of the isotope and a transport from a source located to the south. The most plausible source of the 129I in the studied rivers is atmospheric fallout of 129I emitted either by atmospheric discharges from the nuclear reprocessing facilities at Sellafield (England) and La Hague (France) or by volatilization from seawater contaminated by the same sources. The question is now whether and at what rate the 129I concentration in Nordic watersheds will increase further if discharges from nuclear reprocessing continue.
AB - We analyzed the concentration of 129I in the water of 26 rivers covering most of the runoff from Sweden, with the aim of assessing current contamination levels, distribution patterns and potential sources in freshwater systems of northern Europe. The results show relatively high values (up to 1.4×109 atoms l-1), steeply decreasing levels with increasing latitude and a positive correlation with Cl concentration and other chemical parameters. The 129I concentrations observed in south Sweden are probably the highest ever recorded in rivers without any direct discharge from a nuclear installation. The strong latitudinal dependence suggests a northward dilution and possibly depletion of the isotope and a transport from a source located to the south. The most plausible source of the 129I in the studied rivers is atmospheric fallout of 129I emitted either by atmospheric discharges from the nuclear reprocessing facilities at Sellafield (England) and La Hague (France) or by volatilization from seawater contaminated by the same sources. The question is now whether and at what rate the 129I concentration in Nordic watersheds will increase further if discharges from nuclear reprocessing continue.
KW - AMS
KW - Iodine-129
KW - Radioactive isotopes
KW - Rivers
KW - Sweden
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0038277488&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0038277488&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0048-9697(03)00010-X
DO - 10.1016/S0048-9697(03)00010-X
M3 - Article
C2 - 12798101
AN - SCOPUS:0038277488
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 309
SP - 161
EP - 172
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
IS - 1-3
ER -