An official website of the United States government.
This research project aims to examine the extent of seasonal variations in radionuclide concentrations in crabs and lobsters.and made recommendations for the most representative sampling period consistent with sampling size and frequency.
<p>
The information will be used to assess whether there is any food safety advantage in requesting the Environment Agency to place seasonal restrictions on the discharge of technetium-99 (Tc-99) bearing effluents from Sellafield.
The project identified a suitable field site (off the Isle of Man) where radionuclide concentrations were still measurable but the site was distant enough from Sellafield so that the radionuclide concentrations in seawater were not influenced by the pulsed discharge of Tc-99 from Sellafield. Crab and lobster samples were collected for 10 out of 12 months between February 2000 and February 2001. Male and female individuals of each species were collected from commercial catches and the meat fractions analysed for Tc-99.
<p>
Find more about this project and other FSA food safety-related projects at the <a href="http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/" target="_blank">Food Standards Agency Research webpage</a>.