title: Environmental radionuclide monitoring of Canadian harbours: a decade of analyses in support of due diligence activities by the Royal Canadian Navy.
abstract: The Royal Canadian Navy has conducted a comprehensive programme of safety, security and environmental monitoring since the first visits of nuclear powered and nuclear capable vessels (NPV/NCVs) to Canadian harbours in the late 1960s. The outcomes of baseline monitoring and vessel visit sampling for the period 2003-2012 are described for vessel visits to Halifax (NS), Esquimalt (BC) and Nanoose (BC). Data were obtained by gamma-ray spectroscopy using high purity germanium detectors. No evidence was found for the release of radioactive fission or activation products by NCV/NPVs during the study period, although anthropogenically produced radionuclides were observed as part of the study's baseline monitoring. Background activities of Cs-137 can be observed in sediments from all three locations which are derived from well-documented radioactivity releases. The detection of I-131 in aquatic plants is consistently observed in Halifax at activities as high as 15,000 Bq kg(-1) dry weight. These data are tentatively assigned to the release of medical I-131, followed by bioaccumulation from seawater. I-131 was also observed in aquatic plants samples from Esquimalt (33 Bq kg(-1)) and Nanoose (20 Bq kg(-1)) for a single sampling following the Fukushima Daiichi accident.
authors: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Royal Military College of Canada, P.O. Box 17000 Stn Forces, Kingston, ON K7K 7B4, Canada. Electronic address: david.kelly@rmc.ca.
authors: David G
authors: DG
authors: Kelly
authors: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Royal Military College of Canada, P.O. Box 17000 Stn Forces, Kingston, ON K7K 7B4, Canada.
authors: Kristine M
authors: KM
authors: Mattson
authors: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Royal Military College of Canada, P.O. Box 17000 Stn Forces, Kingston, ON K7K 7B4, Canada.
authors: Curtis
authors: C
authors: McDonald
authors: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Royal Military College of Canada, P.O. Box 17000 Stn Forces, Kingston, ON K7K 7B4, Canada.
authors: Kathy S
authors: KS
authors: Nielsen
authors: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Royal Military College of Canada, P.O. Box 17000 Stn Forces, Kingston, ON K7K 7B4, Canada.
authors: Ron D
authors: RD
authors: Weir
mesh_terms: D001955:British Columbia; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D009674:Nova Scotia; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D012621:Seasons; D012623:Seawater / Q000032:analysis*; D012624:Seaweed / Q000378:metabolism*; D013051:Spectrometry, Gamma; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive
keywords: Bioaccumulation; Iodine-131; Nuclear vessel monitoring