Natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in Norwegian farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Abstract

Norway is one of the main producers of farmed fish and the world's second-largest exporter of seafood. Farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) represents the most exported species. This is the first comprehensive survey of anthropogenic (137Cs, 90Sr, 238Pu, 239,240Pu and 241Am) and natural (40K, 226Ra, 228Ra, 210Pb, 210Po) radionuclides in farmed salmon and manufactured fish feed from Norway. The only anthropogenic radionuclide detected in salmon and fish feed was 137Cs. The levels were low with arithmetic means in salmon and feed of 0.13 and 0.30 Bq/kg fresh weight (fw), respectively. The natural radionuclide 40K exhibited the highest levels with arithmetic means in salmon and feed of 115 and 239 Bq/kg fw, respectively. The arithmetic means of 210Po and 210Pb in salmon were 0.013 and 0.044 Bq/kg fw, respectively, with a mean 210Po:210Pb activity ratio of 0.32. For fish feed, the situation was reversed: the arithmetic means of 210Po and 210Pb were 3.8 and 0.67 Bq/kg fw, respectively, with a mean 210Po:210Pb activity ratio of 5.7. The radionuclide levels found in farmed salmon in the present study are comparable to or lower than the levels found in other fish species in the North Atlantic Ocean. A highly conservative dose estimate for consumption showed that doses were no higher than 1.2 μSv/year for toddlers and 4.0 μSv/year for adults. This suggests that the risk associated with radioactivity in farmed salmon is very low even when considering individuals with high consumption and the highest radionuclide levels found in this study.