Activity concentrations of selected artificial and natural radionuclides in water and sediment samples from the North Western Black Sea, 1999

Radioactive concentrations of several artificial and natural radionuclides were determined in water and sediment samples collected from various locations in the NW Black Sea in December 1999. For water samples, 90Sr and 137Cs activity concentrations were of approximately 11 mBq/l and 26.3-41.2 mBq/l, respectively. The concentration of tritium ranged from 7 to 24 T.U. In sediment samples, maximum concentrations of 137Cs, 239+240Pu and 241Am were found of 128±6 Bq·kg-1, 1.8±0.1 Bq·kg-1 and 0.05±0.04 Bq·kg-1, respectively. For U and Th radionuclides, the concentrations ranged from 20-80 Bq·kg-1 and 30-50 Bq·kg-1, respectively. The results were consistent with those reported in earlier research for the Black Sea.