Enhancement of tritium concentrations on uptake by marine biota: experience from UK coastal waters

Concentrations of tritium in sea water and marine biota as reported over the last ∼ 10 years from monitoring programmes carried out by this laboratory under contract to the UK Food Standards Agency are reviewed from three areas: near Cardiff; Sellafield; and Hartlepool. Near Cardiff, enhancement of concentration factors (CFs) above an a priori value of ∼ 1 have already been studied, and attributed to compounds containing organically bound tritium in local radioactive waste discharges. Further data for Cardiff up to 2006 are reported in this note. Up to 2001, CFs increased to values of more than ∼ 7000 in flounders and ∼ 4000 in mussels, but have subsequently reduced; this variability could be due to changes in the organic constitution of compounds discharged.