Publication Abstract

Has 99Tc from Sellafield entered the English Channel?

G.J. Hunt, P. Bailly du Bois, P.J. Kershaw and M. Masson

In 1994, operation of the Sellafield Enhanced Actinide Removal Plant (EARP) to treat stored wastes containing actinides and 106Ru also led to increased discharges of ⁹⁹Tc which could not be treated. The distribution of ⁹⁹Tc in the Irish Sea and northwards, the direction of predominant flow, has been subject to a number of studies (e.g. Leonard et al, 1997; Kershaw et al, 1999). The present investigation examines the potential southerly transfer of ⁹⁹Tc into St George's Channel, the Celtic Sea and the English Channel over the period 1994 to 2001, and makes use of the well-known indicator properties of Fucus seaweeds for ⁹⁹Tc.