The accumulation of sup(95m)Tc from sea water by juvenile lobsters (Homarus gammarus L.)

The uptake and retention of technetium from sea water by juvenile lobsters, and the effects of moulting on these processes, has been studied using sup(95m)Tc as a tracer. Accumulation was rapid with whole body concentration factors of over 2000 being measured in some lobsters. Uptake was highest immediately before a moult; post-moult there was a fall in accumulation. No simple mathematical equation for technetium accumulation with time was found. The technetium concentration in the moulted exoskeleton increased with time of exposure of the lobsters but never exceeded 2% of the whole body value. The highest percentage of the whole body activity was found in the digestive gland; the green gland had the highest concentration factor. Technetium excretion, following 64 d of accumulation, could be expressed as an exponential rate of loss. The biological half-time was calculated as 53 d. Moulted exoskeletons from these lobsters contained approximately 0.6% of the day zero whole body activity. (author)