Abstract

The waterlily Nymphaea violacea is a major aquatic macrophyte in the waters of the Alligator Rivers Region, Northern Teritory, Australia. It is also a traditional Aboriginal diet item, and is considered to be potentially one of the main contributors to the effective dose equivalent arising from consumption of so called ‘bush’ food in the region. Because of the proximity of the Ranger Uranium Mine (RUM), the activity concentrations of the U and Th series radionuclides have been studied in water, sediment and waterlily during different seasons at five sites downstream of the mine site. The objectives of the study are: 1. 1. To identify the major source of radionuclide uptake by the plant; i.e. water or sediment. 2. 2. To assess the concentration factors/ratios needed for predicting the radiation exposure of the critical group resulting from any discharge of water to the aquatic environment from the Ranger uranium mine. 3. 3. To estimate the natural radiation exposure of the public arising from consumption of waterlilies. Results show that sediment is the major source of U and Th series radionuclides to waterlily roots, rhizomes and foliage. Waterlily to sediment concentration ratios, based on wet weights, are of the order of 0·01–0·03 for roots and rhizomes and 0·005–0·015 for foliage. The naturally occurring committed effective dose equivalent (CEDE) from an estimated annual intake of 3 kg waterlily rhizomes from the forage areas are of the order of 0·02 mSv.

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