ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the sources, forms, and fates of radioactive wastes in estuarine and marine waters. It describes the effects of ionizing radiation on organisms inhabiting the environments. One of the principal concerns regarding radioactivity in estuarine and marine environments is the uptake of the pollutants by organisms and their potential biomagnification through food chains to man. In addition to the man-generated radioactivity produced in the nuclear fuel cycle, radioactive products generated by atmospheric nuclear detonations prior to 1980 accounted for substantial elevations of activity above background. The chapter assesses the radioactive waste management strategies employed in the marine realm, together with the engineering practices designed to ensure the safe disposal of radioactive materials in the sensitive areas. Generated in the atmosphere via cosmic-ray interactions, the neutron particle, through a process of neutron activation, reacts with elements to form other radionuclides.
