Radioactivity Levels in Ceramium rubrum collected from Eastern Black Sea Coast of Turkey

Authors : Nilay AKÇAY, Ali İhsan KOBYA

Pages : 11-17

View : 22 | Download : 13

Publication Date : 2019-03-28

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The Black Sea is a unique sea with its natural properties. In last  decades, The Black Sea has suffered from the pollution that creates detrimental effects in its ecosystem. The some of the main pollutants in the Black Sea are the artificial radionuclides formed after the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster ( 137 Cs, 90 Sr) and the radionuclides formed due to the human and natural activities ( 238 U, 232 Th, 40 K). In many surveys, biomonitor organisms such as macroalgaes were used for the determination of radioactivity levels in The Black Sea. The aim of this study is to determine the activity levels of natural and artificial radionuclides in Ceramium rubrum (a species of red macroalgae) collected from five provinces and eighteen stations in Eastern Black Sea Coast of Turkey. The activity analyzes of samples were carried by using a HPGe gamma spectroscopic detector system and a Genie 2000 software programme. The maximum radioactivity levels of 238 U, 232 Th, 137 Cs and 40 K were measured as 23.8 Bq.kg -1 , 36.1 Bq.kg -1 , 4.8 Bq.kg -1 and 882 Bq.kg -1 , respectively.
Keywords : radioactivity, macroalgae, Ceramium, radionuclide, gamma