Monitoring of 137Cs, 239+240Pu, and 90Sr in the marine environment of South Korea and their impact on marine biota: 10 years after the Fukushima accident.

ABSTRACT

This study conducted an analysis of the behavior of radionuclides and assessment their radioactive risk based on seawater and seabed sediment samples gathered from the East, South, and Yellow Seas of South Korea over the period from 2011 to 2020. The distribution for each radionuclides in seawater obtained from the East, South, and Yellow Seas were similar. However, the concentrations of 137Cs and 239+240Pu in sediments from the East Sea were observed to be higher compared to those from the South and Yellow Seas. This variation can be attributed to differences in the ocean inflow, water column properties, and seabed characteristics among the seas around South Korea. There were no statistically significant differences between the radioactive concentrations of seawater and seabed samples collected before and after the Fukushima accident, and no areas with unusually high radiation levels were detected. Using the distribution coefficient (Kds) and the concentration ratio (CR) calculated from the 2011-to-2020 data, we evaluated the radiological impact on fish. The ERICA tool was utilized to assess these data, and indicated a negligible radiological risk from radioactivity in the seawater, seabed sediments, and marine biota in the South Korean Ocean.