Distribution of iodine-127 in marine organisms from coastal waters around Aomori, Japan

We measured the concentrations and determined the distribution of the stable isotope ¹²⁷I in the marine organisms. Marine fish were collected from the Pacific Ocean near Aomori, Japan. The mean ¹²⁷I concentrations in the muscle of marine fish ranged from 0.67 μg g^-1-wet weight (ww) in cherry salmon to 0.84 μg g^-1-ww in fat greenling. Among the tissues measured, the muscle showed the lowest levels of ¹²⁷I in all fish species. The highest ¹²⁷I concentration in the tissues of marine fish was observed in the ovary of fat greenling. The mean ¹²⁷I concentration in the of Japanese scallop ranged from 0.06 μg g^-1-ww in adductor muscle to 5.49 μg g^-1-ww in mid-gut gland. The ¹²⁷I concentrations in seaweeds were 67 μg g^-1-dry weight (dw) in sea lettuce and 1783 μg g^-1-dw in kombu. Thus, the distribution of ¹²⁷I concentration in marine organisms varied considerably depending on the tissue. (authors)