Uptake and Release of Some Radionuclides by Fresh Water Phytoplankton in Batch Culture

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Abstract
The uptake and release of radionuclides, 137Cs, 65Zn, 60Co and 45Ca, by fresh water phytoplankton Anabaena variabilis, which is one of the bluegreen algae, were followed through all growth phases of algae. The amount of adsorption of radioactivity on cellular surface of algae fixed with formarin solution was smaller than that radioactivity taken up by living algae. The radionuclides, except for 45Ca whose stable element was one of the elementary nutrients, were noticeably concentrated on the early phase, especially on the exponential growth phase. Thereafter, the activity concentration in algae were decreased by biological dilution due to cell division and reached the equilibrium. The degree of the decrease of radioactivity in algae due to biological dilution was in the order, 60Co, 65Zn, 137Cs. In the case of 45Ca, the phenomenon of biological dilution was not observed on every growth phase. The uptake and release of radioactivity by algae occured in the dark, but the amount of radioactivity taken up was smaller than in the light.

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