Baseline radionuclide concentration in selected marine organisms around the coastal areas of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts, west coast of Maharashtra, India.

The present work deals with assessment of baseline radionuclide concentration in marine organisms around selected coasts of Maharashtra, India. This baseline study highlights concentrations of natural and fallout radionuclides in finfish and shellfish species found in the surrounding seawater. Water and fish samples were collected, processed, and analyzed for ²³⁸ U, ²²⁶ Ra, ²²⁸ Ra, ²³² Th, ⁴⁰ K, and ¹³⁷ Cs by high-resolution gamma spectrometry. ²³⁸ U, ²²⁶ Ra, ²²⁸ Ra, ²³² Th, ⁴⁰ K, and ¹³⁷ Cs concentrations were found to be in the range of ≤1.5, ≤2.0, ≤0.4, ≤1.5, ≤8.0 to 258, and ≤0.2 Bq/kg, respectively. The seasonal study revealed the maximum concentration in premonsoon season. Activity concentrations were higher in pelagic fish than those in demersal fish. A higher concentration factor was reported in shellfish than in finfish.
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