The radiological situation at the atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa. Technical report. V. 2. Radionuclide concentrations measured in the aquatic environment of the atolls

A marine monitoring programme was carried out within the framework of the IAEA's project entitled ''Study of the Radiological Situation at Mururoa and Fangataufa Atolls'' with the aim of assessing present radionuclide concentrations in the marine environment of Mururoa and Fangataufa Atolls. The terms of reference of the marine working group (WG2) included a review of the data provided by the French authorities on radionuclide distributions in the littoral and sub-littoral environments at the atolls. Further, using accredited international laboratories, it was decided to carry out sufficient and new independent monitoring work at and around the atolls in order to validate existing French data and, the same time, to provide a representative and high quality data set on current radionuclide concentrations in the marine environment, with particular reference to the requirement of Task Group A for radiological assessment purposes. This work included measurements of the current radionuclide concentrations in the marine environment, and estimation of concentration factors and Kd values appropriate for the region. The variations in activity concentrations in the lagoons over the past few years are discussed, and the likely sources of activity implied by these data are identified where possible