Technetium-99 and cesium-134 as long distance tracers in Arctic waters

Abstract In August 1984, 134 Cs originating from the British reprocessing plant Sellafield (formerly Windscale) was found in the waters between Canada and Greenland. The transit time from Sellafield to Baffin Bay is approximately eight years. The concentration in the surface waters in the south-eastern part of Baffin Bay of a pollutant coming from the North Sea is approximately 1% of its concentration in the North Sea. The conclusions based upon the observations of 134 Cs are supported by determinations of 99 Tc in Greenland fucoids. Enhanced discharges of 99 Tc apparently began in 1970, i.e. four years earlier than those of radiocesium. The unreported, annual 99 Tc discharges in the 1970s prior to 1978 are estimated to be approximately 40 TBq (⋍ 1 kCi).