Polonium-210: its relative enrichment in the hepatopancreas of marine invertebrates

Abstract

The alpha-radioactive nuclide 210Po is enriched in many components of the marine biosphere. Particularly high concentrations of 210Pb are found in the hepatopancreas of many marine invertebrates, making this organ one of the highest known natural radiation dose domains. Concentrations of many other elements in the hepatopancreas have been reported in the literature, and these are summarized and compared with those for 210Po. The enrichment factor concept is used, and a simple marine biogeochemical classification of the elements results. The enrichment factors for Ag, Cd and Se in the marine hepatopancreas are even higher than that for 210Po; those for Cu, Hg, Sb and Zn are an order of magnitude lower, and those for all other elements for which data are available are at least 1 order of magnitude lower still. The idea that 210Po is closely involved with biological processes in the ocean is given additional support.