title: Baseline concentration of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb in Sargassum from the northern Gulf.
abstract: This baseline study highlights the (210)Po and (210)Pb concentration in two species of the benthic macroalgae Sargassum from northern Gulf, also known as the ROPME Sea Area (RSA). Within the marine environment, (210)Po is initially absorbed from water and concentrated by phytoplankton and macroalgae, and this concentrated (210)Po can then readily be passed along to the higher trophic level of the marine food web. The (210)Po concentration measured in Sargassum boveanum (22.5-25.6 Bq kg(-1)) was higher than that in Sargassum oligocystum (20.2-22.5 Bq kg(-1)), but is not statistically significant (p>0.064), where as the difference between (210)Pb concentrations in Sargassum boveanum (15.3-16.8 Bq kg(-1)) and Sargassum oligocystum (18.4-22.0 Bq kg(-1)) was statistically significant (p>0.019). The measured concentration factor for (210)Po in Sargassum in the northern Gulf varied between 0.55 and 1.2×10(4), values higher to the IAEA recommended value of 1×10(3). The (210)Po enrichment is observed in both the species of Sargassum,(210)Po/(210)Pb ratio was >1 at all the stations for all the samples.
authors.affiliation: Environment and Life Sciences Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box. 24885, Safat 13109, Kuwait. Electronic address: sdin@kisr.edu.kw.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uddin
authors.affiliation: Energy and Building Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box. 24885, Safat 13109, Kuwait.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aba
authors.affiliation: Environment and Life Sciences Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box. 24885, Safat 13109, Kuwait.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bebhehani
mesh_terms: D020387:Food Chain; D007730:Kuwait; D007856:Lead Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D011059:Polonium / Q000032:analysis*; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D044647:Sargassum / Q000737:chemistry*; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D007856:Lead Radioisotopes; D011059:Polonium
keywords: Concentration factor; Microalgae; Polonium; RSA