Estimation of 210Po and 210Pb and its dose to human beings due to consumption of marine species of Ennore Creek, South India

A systemic study on the natural radionuclides such as Po-210 and Pb-210 in the environmental matrices and biota of Ennore Creek has been undertaken to establish a baseline data on the radiation profile of Ennore Creek environment. The environmental samples such as water, sediment, and biota (seaweeds, molluscs, crustaceans, and fishes) have been subjected to analyses. It has been observed that the concentration of Po-210 and Pb-210 in the water samples of Ennore Creek as 2.7 and 1.63 m Bq L-1, respectively. The activity concentration of Po-210 and Pb-210 in the sediment sample was 17.9 and 28.9 Bq kg(-1), respectively. The bivalve mollusk Perna viridis have been identified to accumulate higher concentrations of Po-210 and Pb-210 suggesting that they could serve as bioindicator of radionuclides in the Ennore Creek environment. The committed effective dose for human beings was found at 81.13-216.8 and 2.1-297.2 mu Sv year(-1) for Po-210 and Pb-210, respectively.