(1) The vast majority of the Tc-99 detected is likely to come from the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant.

Tc-99 in the environment comes from past atomic weapons tests (fallout) and discharges from nuclear reprocessing plants. The ‘background’ level of Tc-99 in seawater from fallout is about 0.005 Bq/m3, which is expected to cause levels in seaweed of less than 1 Bq/kg.

(2) Levels have increased greatly since discharges from Sellafield increased in1994

Discharges of Tc-99 from Sellafield have increased by about 50 times since the early 1990s. Levels of Tc-99 in seaweed (Fucus vesiculosus) were generally below 30Bq/kg (dry weight) on the Norwegian coast at that time.

(3) Levels are expected to increase further in the future

Levels of Tc-99 in seaweed and lobsters near Sellafield were still rising in 1997. Levels in lobster there have reached up to 42 times the European intervention level for food after a nuclear accident. Increases in levels on Nordic coasts are expected to follow increases near Sellafield. Discharges from Sellafield take an estimated 2.5 years to reach the Norwegian coast.

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References:

Brown et al (1998), Technetium-99 Contamination in the North Sea and in Norwegian Coastal Areas 1996 and 1997, Norwegian Coastal Protection Authority, StralevernRapport 1998:3.

BNFL (1997), Statutory Environmental Monitoring Programmes, Sellafield, Quarter 2, 1997.

Dahlgaard at al (1995), On the background level of Tc-99, Sr-90 and Cs-137 in the North Atlantic, J. Mar. Sys., 6, 571-778.

Southampton University (1998), Determination of Technetium-99 in marine biota samples.