Water hardness determines226Ra uptake in the tropical freshwater mussel.
Chemical data for freshwater mussels (Velesunio spp.) and water from 15 sampling sites in the Alligator Rivers Region and Rum Jungle uranium provinces in tropical Northern Australia were analysed to develop a predictive model of radium-226 (226Ra) bioaccumulation for variable water calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) concentrations. Application of the model as a226Ra screening approach for freshwater mussels in tropical waterbodies potentially impacted by operational or remediated uranium mine sites is discussed in relation to Mudginberri Billabong, located approximately 12 km downstream of Ranger uranium mine in the Alligator Rivers Region.
Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist (ERISS), GPO Box 461, Darwin, NT 0801, Australia. Electronic address: che.doering@environment.gov.au.
Che
C
Doering
Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist (ERISS), GPO Box 461, Darwin, NT 0801, Australia; Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz, BfS), 79098 Freiburg, Germany.
Andreas
A
Bollhöfer
D000818:Animals; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000378:metabolism*; D005618:Fresh Water; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D011883:Radium / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive; D011883:Radium
Bioaccumulation; Bivalve mollusc; Freshwater ecosystem; Radium-226; Tropical radioecology; Uranium mining