Accumulation of Radionuclides by Common Mussel Mytilus edulis and Purplish Bifurcate Mussel Septifer virgatus

Abstract

The accumulation of ⁶⁰Co, ⁵⁹Fe, ⁵⁴Mn and ⁶⁵Zn by common mussel Mytilus edulis and purplish bifurcate mussel Septifer virgatus from seawater was investigated. High accumulation of ⁵⁹Fe in Mytilus and ⁵⁴Mn in Septifer was observed in the uptake experiments. Differences in biological half-lives between the two species was observed for ⁵⁴Mn and ⁵⁹Fe. The organ-specific concen-tration of radionuclides observed in the mussels was high accumulation of ⁶⁰Co in kidney andviscera, ⁵⁹Fe in kidney and viscera, ⁶⁵Zn in kidney but was not observed for ⁵⁴Mn although the accumulation of ⁵⁴Mn in mantle was different between the species. Autoradiography was applied to examine the details of the distribution of ⁵⁹Fe in the soft parts of the mussels.