Anthropogenic radionuclides in sediment in the Japan Sea: distribution and transport processes of particulate radionuclides.

Distributions of anthropogenic radionuclides ((90)Sr, (137)Cs and (239+240)Pu) in seabed sediment in the Japan Sea were collected during the period 1998-2002. Concentration of (90)Sr, (137)Cs and (239+240)Pu in seabed sediment was 0.07-1.

Organic and trace metal contaminants in sediments and English sole tissues from Vancouver Harbour, Canada.

As part of a multinational workshop on marine environmental quality, sediments were collected from seven sites in Vancouver Harbour and analyzed for polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorines (OCs), and for trace metals. English sole were collected from five sites, and muscle was analyzed for trace metals and liver for OCs. As expected, sediment PAH and OC concentrations and tissue OC concentrations were higher at sites east of the First Narrows, compared to the outer harbor and reference sites.

Anthropogenic radionuclides in the Japan Sea: their distributions and transport processes.

The anthropogenic radionuclides, (90)Sr, (137)Cs and (239+240)Pu, were measured in the water column of the Japan Sea/East Sea during 1997-2000. The vertical profiles of radionuclide concentrations showed: exponential decrease with depth for (90)Sr and (137)Cs, and surface minimum/subsurface maximum for (239+240)Pu. These results do not differ substantially from results reported previously.

Asia-Pacific mussel watch: monitoring contamination of persistent organochlorine compounds in coastal waters of Asian countries.

Contamination of persistent organochlorines (OCs) such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), DDT and its metabolites (DDTs), HCH (hexachlorocyclohexane) isomers (HCHs), chlordane compounds (CHLs), and HCB (hexachlorobenzene) were examined in mussels collected from coastal waters of Asian countries such as Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Far East Russia, Singapore, and Vietnam in 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2001 to elucidate the contamination status, distribution and possible pollution sources and to assess the risks on aquatic organisms and human. OCs were detected in all mussels collected from all the sampling sites investigated. Considerable residue levels of p,p(')-DDT and alpha-HCH were found in mussels and the concentrations of DDTs and HCHs found in mussels from Asian developing countries were higher than those in developed nations suggesting present usage of DDTs and HCHs along the coastal waters of Asian developing countries.

239+240Pu and 137Cs concentrations for zooplankton and nekton in the Northwest Pacific and Antarctic Oceans (1993-1996).

The concentrations of 239+240Pu and 137Cs in zooplankton and nekton in the Northwest Pacific and Southern Oceans were measured during the period 1993-1996. The object of the sampling was to assess the potential impacts of existing submerged anthropogenic-radioactive materials in the western North Pacific as well as the East China Sea. Samples from the Bransfield Strait of the Antarctic Ocean provided a control source impacted by only atmospheric bomb fallout.