Americium biokinetics in benthic organisms as a function of feeding mode

Transuranic radionuclides in the environment have arisen from nuclear weapons testing, release from nuclear waste reprocessing plants and accidents with nuclear devices. Although at present the plutonium inventory is greater than that of any other transuranium element, the americium inventory will continue to increase due to the in situ decay of 241Pu. Furthermore some studies have demonstrated that americium is more bioavailable than plutonium in aquatic environments. The authors therefore undertook to delineate, experimentally, the biokinetics of 241Am in some marine benthic species with very different feeding-digestion strategies, which hitherto have not been studied in any detail in a radioecological context