Radioactive substances

Radioactive substances also reach the North Sea. Both natural and artificial substances are likely to be discharged, particularly from nuclear power plants, but also from installations for the reprocessing of used fuel and certain medical or research laboratories.

In 1998, OSPAR defined its strategy for radioactive substances, the ultimate aim of which is to achieve levels in the environment close to the ambient levels for radioactive substances present in the natural state and close to zero for man made radioactive substances.

The problem of radioactive substances as regards the marine environment is being examined in the context of the MARINA I & II projects ("Project on the radiological exposure of the European Community from radioactivity in North European marine waters").

The MARINA II report has been published in the autumn of 2002. This global study on the radioactive pollution in the Northern European seas was financed by the Directorate-General Environment of the European Commission in the framework of the OSPAR Convention. In the MARINA I project, data were collected until the mid eighties. In the MARINA II study, data from all over Europe were collected, to provide information on the input of radionuclids from all sources in the North Sea: discharges from nuclear plants, tests of nuclear weapons during the fifties and sixties, non-nuclear industrial waste and consequences of the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Then, the concentration of different radionuclids was evaluated (Cesium, Tritium, Plutonium,…) in the North Eastern Atlantic Ocean. Finally the impact of these concentrations on the population of the European Union was monitored.

The study revealed that compared to the mid sixties, human non-military input of radioactive substances in the North Eastern Atlantic ocean, has declined considerably at the end of the nineties, for the alpha and beta emitters and for Tritium. The maximum levels were reached in the sixties and the beginning of the seventies. In that same period (1960-1990), reductions of radionuclid concentrations can be seen in the marine environment, and consequently in the exposure of people.

Since the mid eighties, the inputs of beta activity in the OSPAR area arise from nuclear reprocessing installations like Sellafield and Cap de la Hague. As far as alpha activity is concerned, the sources are dominated by the phosphate industry and the exploitation of oil and gas in the North Sea. Because of the higher radioactivity and the biological impact of alpha radiation, these industries are the principal contributors to the exposure of the population of the European Union.
When compared, other sources are negligible (production and use in radio-pharmacy, maintenance of nuclear submarines, historical discharges of waste in the sea and other accidents besides Chernobyl).

This study also shows that radioactive doses from industrial activities in biota (apart from humans), are very low. They are similar in magnitude to the background doses. The conclusions based on today’s knowledge indicate there are no negative effects to be expected on life in the sea.

The competent federal body for radioactive matters is the Agence Fédérale de Contrôle Nucléaire (FANC - Federal Agency for Nuclear Monitoring).

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