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Fish otoliths as biological dosimeter: internal dose calculation

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Abstract

Otoliths are organs used by fish for hearing and keeping balance. They consist of biogenic crystals of hydroxyapatite and do not contain any living cells. Upon exposure to ionizing radiation, otolith hydroxyapatite accumulates radiation-induced stable CO2− radicals whose amount is proportional to absorbed dose. In electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) dosimetry, carbonate ions are registered and, hence, the total accumulated dose in the fish otolith can be quantified. Therefore, otoliths can be used as individual fish dosimeters to support radiobiological and radioecological studies. An important aspect of otolith-based EPR dosimetry on fish from contaminated water bodies is the potential presence of bone-seeking 90Sr. Consequently, cumulative absorbed doses measured with EPR in otoliths may reflect the superposition of internal exposure to 90Sr/90Y and external exposure due to radionuclides circulating in soft tissue of the fish as well as due to environmental contamination. The objective of the present study was to develop a method that allows for an assessment of the contribution of 90Sr to the total dose in otolith. The method has been tested using otoliths from seven fish taken from reservoirs located in the Southern Urals contaminated with radionuclides including 90Sr. It has been shown that dose to otoliths is largely determined by 90Sr in the hydroxyapatite. The internal dose component can be calculated using activity concentration-to-dose conversion factors, which vary slightly in the range of 2.0–2.8 × 10–3 Gy year−1 per Bq g−1 depending on fish species and age. Internal doses to fish from water bodies with different levels of 90Sr contamination were calculated in the range from 2 mGy to ~ 200 Gy. External dose contribution was derived for two fish only to be about 100 and 40 Gy. It is concluded that EPR dosimetry on fish otoliths is a promising tool when external exposure prevails or is comparable to internal exposure due to 90Sr.

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The data that support the findings of this study are availible from the corresponding author upon reasonable requests.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by State task “Spin” No. 122021000036-3.

Funding

The authors E.A. Shishkina, U.D. Biryukhova, E.A. Pryakhin and G.A. Tryapitsina declare that they have no financial interests. Author D.V. Ivanov has support from State task “Spin” No. 122021000036-3.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chelyabinsk State University, 129, Br. Kashirinykh Str., Chelyabinsk, Russia, 454001

    E. A. Shishkina, U. D. Biryukhova & G. A. Tryapitsina

  2. Urals Research Center for Radiation Medicine, 68A, Vorovsky Str., Chelyabinsk, Russia, 454076

    E. A. Shishkina & E. A. Pryakhin

  3. Ural Federal University, 19 Mira Str., Yekaterinburg, Russia, 620002

    D. V. Ivanov

  4. M. N. Mikheev Institute of Metal Physics, Urals Division of Russian Academy of Sciences, 18, S. Kovalevskaya Str., Yekaterinburg, Russia, 620990

    D. V. Ivanov

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  1. E. A. Shishkina
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  2. D. V. Ivanov
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  3. U. D. Biryukhova
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  4. E. A. Pryakhin
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  5. G. A. Tryapitsina
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Contributions

EAS provided conceptualization and supervision. EAS and DVI wrote the manuscript text. DVI provided EPR measurements. UDB provided analysis and prepared the figures. EAP provided conceptualization and wrote the introduction. GAT provided biological samples and took part in discussion. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to D. V. Ivanov.

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Shishkina, E.A., Ivanov, D.V., Biryukhova, U.D. et al. Fish otoliths as biological dosimeter: internal dose calculation. Radiat Environ Biophys 62, 143–150 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-022-01007-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-022-01007-y

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