Polonium-210 in marine mussels (bivalve molluscs) inhabiting the southern coast of India

The present study focused on the determination of the alpha-emitter, 210Po, in two species of marine mussels (bivalve molluscs) commonly available in the southern coastal region of India. The brown mussel, Perna indica was collected from the west coast and the green mussel, Perna viridis from the east coast. The concentration of 210Po was related to the allometry (length of shell, wet/dry weight of shell/soft tissue) of the mussels and significant results were found. The study period focused on three seasons namely, pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon for a 1-year period (2010–2011). The results revealed higher activity levels in smaller-sized mussels compared to larger ones. Marked variation in 210Po activity concentration was noted in the whole-body soft tissues between seasons and sampling site (p < 0.05). The dose rate assessment for mussels was performed using the ERICA Assessment tool. The chronic exposure to mussels due to 210Po was found to be lesser than the global benchmark dose rate of 10 μGy h−1. The effective ingestion dose to adults who intake mussels was estimated to be in the range 5.1–34.9 μSv y−1. The measurement contributes to the furthering of knowledge of 210Po, since no data exist in this region.