Determination of 238U in Marine Organisms by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Determination of 238U in fifty-five species of marine organisms was carried out by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry which showed some advantages such as high sensitivity, wide dynamic range and small interferences from matrices for the analysis of high mass elements. The concentrations of 238U in soft tissues of marine animals ranged from 0.076 to 5000 ng/g wet wt. Especially, the branchial heart of cephalopod molluscs showed the specific accumulation of 288U. The concentration factor of the branchial heart of Octopus vulgaris, which indicated the highest value, was calculated to be about 103 by comparing it with the concentration of 238U (3.2 ±0.2 ng/m/) in coastal seawaters of Japan. The concentrations of 2S8U in hard tissues of marine invertebrates were similar to those in soft tissues. In contrast, hard tissues like bone, scale, fin, etc. of fishes showed much higher concentrations of 2S8U than soft tissues like muscle and liver. The concentrations of 238U of twenty species of algae ranged from 10 to 3700 ng/g dry wt. © 1991, The Japanese Society of Fisheries Science. All rights reserved.