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Uptake of 55Fe from contaminated sediments by the polychaete Nereis diversicolor

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Abstract

The polychaete Nereis diversicolor O. F. Müller was exposed to marine sediments which had been contaminated with 55Fe either through the testing of nuclear devices or by the release of liquid waste effluent from a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. The amount of 55Fe taken up reached a concentration in the worms about 6% of the concentration in both types of sediment. Bioavailability of 55Fe was shown to depend on its concentration in sediment and not on sediment type, stable iron concentration, or the source of contamination. N. diversicolor may not extract from sediment the same fraction of 55Fe as does 0.1N HCl and caution should be exercised in using such measurements to represent the bioavailable fraction.

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Communicated by J.M. Pérès, Marseille

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Jennings, C.D., Fowler, S.W. Uptake of 55Fe from contaminated sediments by the polychaete Nereis diversicolor . Mar. Biol. 56, 277–280 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00386865

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