The Freshwater MusselParreysia Favidens(Benson) As A Biological Indicator of Polonium - 210 in A Riverine System

Abstract

Abstract The concentration of 210Po, an alpha emitter from the natural uranium series was measured in the soft tissues (total), shell, and different organs - digestive glands, gills, mantle and foot - of the freshwater mussel, Parreysia favidens (Benson), collected from the river Kaveri, at Tiruchirapalli in South India. the analyses were made in three size groups based on shell length (Group 1: 2–4 cm; Group 2: 4–5 cm; Group 3: 5–6 cm). the soft tissues of the mussel accumulated higher concentrations of 210Po (74.0–125.5 Bq kg−1 fresh) than the shell (2.9–3.9 Bq kg−1 fresh). Further, younger mussels (1 group) showed higher concentrations (125.5+2.0 Bq kg−1 fresh) in total soft tissues than older ones (III Group) (74.0+1.6 Bq kg−1 fresh); concentration factors were 1.59x 105 in I group and 9.37 × 104 in III group. the 210Po was observed to be non-uniformly distributed among the internal organs, which maintained the following descending order with reference to 210Po accumulation: digestive glands, ranging from 286.2+3.5 Bq kg−1 fresh to 43+1.3 Bq kg−1 fresh. the concentration of 210Po in the mussels was distinctly higher than that in the grass, Echinochloa colonum (J. Koenig), and carp, Cirrhinus cirrhosa (Bloch), from the same river. These data indicate that younger mussels could be used as an excellent biological indicator of 210Po and among soft tissues, digestive glands are preferable to other tissues to monitor the distribution of 210Po in the riverine system.