New estimation of La Hague contribution to the artificial radioactivity of Norwegian waters (1992-1995) and Barents Sea

P. Guegueniat (1) , P. Kershaw (2) , J. Hermann (3) , P. Bailly Du Bois (1)

1 IRSN/PSE-ENV/SRTE/LRC - Laboratoire de Radioécologie de Cherbourg-Octeville
2 Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
3 Bundesamtfür Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie [Hamburg, Germany]

A release of 10000 GBq per month of a conservative radionuclide into the central part of the English Channel gives rise to activities (in Bq m-3) of 68-89 at Goury, 50-70 in Cherbourg (5 and 30 km from the waste outlet of La Hague), 25-40 in the Straits of Dover, 4-5 at the entrance of the Norwegian Channel and l-3 at the entrance of the Barents Sea. Taking account of La Hague releases and transit times of 17 and 36 months, a calculation of the contribution of La Hague to the artificial radioactivity of the entrance to the Norwegian Channel and the Barents Sea is given.

Keywords: Radionuclides; Antimony; Caesium; Transit time; English Channel; Radionuclides; North Sea; Norwegian Channel

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Ocean, Atmosphere; Environmental Sciences

P. Guegueniat, P. Kershaw, J. Hermann, P. Bailly Du Bois. New estimation of La Hague contribution to the artificial radioactivity of Norwegian waters (1992-1995) and Barents Sea. Science of the Total Environment, 1997, 202 (1-3), pp.249 - 266. ⟨10.1016/S0048-9697(97)00120-4⟩. ⟨hal-02433479⟩