Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Sydney, Australia.
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Sydney, Australia.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2020 Sep;158:111390. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111390. Epub 2020 Jul 8.
Radionuclides from 1950s weapons testing at the Montebello Islands, Western Australia, may impact sea turtle embryos incubating within eggs laid in contaminated sands or be taken up into adult body tissues where they can contribute to radiation dose over a turtles' 60+ year lifespan. We measured plutonium in all local samples including turtle skin, bones, hatchlings, eggshells, sea sediments, diet items and beach sands. The amount of Pu in developing embryos/hatchling samples was orders of magnitude lower than that in the surrounding sands. These contaminated sands caused most dose to eggs (external dose from Cs, Eu), while most of the dose to adults was from internalised radionuclides (98%). While current dose rates are relatively low, local dose rates were high for about ten years following the 1950s detonations and may have resulted in lethality or health impacts to a generation of turtles that likely carry biomarkers today.
来自 20 世纪 50 年代在澳大利亚西部芒特贝罗群岛进行的武器试验的放射性核素，可能会影响在受污染的沙滩中产卵的海龟胚胎，或者被成年海龟吸收到体内组织中，从而在海龟 60 多年的寿命中增加辐射剂量。我们测量了当地所有样本中的钚，包括海龟的皮肤、骨骼、幼龟、蛋壳、海洋沉积物、食物和沙滩沙。在发育中的胚胎/幼龟样本中的 Pu 含量要低几个数量级，比周围的沙子低。这些受污染的沙子对卵（来自 Cs、Eu 的外照射剂量）造成的剂量最大，而对成年海龟的大部分剂量来自内部放射性核素（98%）。虽然目前的剂量率相对较低，但在 20 世纪 50 年代爆炸后的大约十年里，当地的剂量率很高，可能对一代海龟造成了致死或健康影响，这些海龟可能至今还带有生物标志物。
