A study on seasonal variations of Po-210 levels in a coal burning power station area of Malaysia

Abstract

<span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family: " times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:simsun;mso-bidi-font-family:"times="" roman";="" mso-font-kerning:1.0pt;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:zh-cn;="" mso-bidi-language:ar-sa"="" lang="EN-US">In order to evaluate the possible radiological impact to the environment from a coal burning power plant, Po-210 concentrations in water, suspended matter (TSS), and surface sediment samples collected from the Kapar coastal area, is investigated. Results show that the mean Po-210 concentrations are 0.69±0.34 mBql^-1, 85.90±65.62 Bqkg^-1 and 33.19±14.85 Bqkg^-1 in water, TSS and sediment, respectively. About 99% of them are associated with the particulate phase of water. Comparatively, higher Po-210 values have been observed when compared to the values shown in literature, which is suspected to be the impact of coal burning. The calculated values of Kd range from 9×10⁵ to 381.1×10⁵ Lg^-1 and show a negative log Kd versus the TSS correlation. An attempt has been made to investigate the seasonal variation pattern of Po-210 accumulation in the marine environment and a clear relationship is revealed with higher Po-210 concentration during the northeast monsoon period.</span>