Consequences of radioactive deposition on aquatic environments

The publication concentrates on the analyses of the main effects of radioactive deposition on Nordic aquatic environments. A modelling approach is applied for predicting the temporal behaviour of concentrations in fish of inland freshwater ecosystems. The observed values are considered in parallel with the calculations. The time-integrated consequences, the radiation doses are estimated for the relatively significant dose pathways. After a preliminary study of various lake environments in Nordic countries, three representative examples of lake systems were selected for closer consideration: small forest lake, medium-sized forest lake and mountain lake. The effects of changes in the trophic levels of lakes are also tentatively accounted for. The results of the analyses indicate that the radiological consequences of shallow forest lakes are greater than those of mountain lakes which usually have shorter turnover times compared to forest lakes. In long-term consideration, the fish ingestion pathway may in general become important and, in addition to the external exposure, has a high contribution to the expected doses.