APPROVED for Release for
Unlimited (Release to Public)
6/23/2005

OSR 3-4A-W (Rev. 1-89)

WESTINGHOUSE SAVANNAH RIVER COMPANY

INTER-OFFICE MEMORANDUM
SRT-EST-2003-00134

July 15, 2003

Signature on file
__________________
Technical Review

TO:

Environmental Dosimetry Files

FROM:

G.T. Jannik, 773–42A

Cesium-137 Bioconcentration Factor for Freshwater Fish in the SRS Environment

This memo serves to document the justification for the continuing use of a Savannah River
Site (SRS) site-specific bioconcentration factor of 3,000 for cesium-137 in freshwater fish.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) default bioconcentration factor for cesium in
fish is 2,000 (NRC, 1977). This value is taken from Thompson, et al. (1972).
It is documented in Cummins (1994) that SRS determined values ranged between 600 and
39,000 (in fish muscle). Cummins further documented that non-SRS values ranged
between 400 and 14,000 (Blaylock, 1982: Coughtrey and Thorne, 1985; Jorgensen et al.
1991, Till and Meyer, 1983; Vanderploeg et al. 1975).
The original justification for the use of a cesium-137 bioconcentration factor of 3,000 for
SRS fish was documented in Gladden (1982). Because this memorandum does not have a
site document number, it is attached to this report.
In Jannik (1995), it is documented that in 1994, the weighted average concentration of
cesium-137 in fish flesh harvested from near Savannah River Mile 120 was 0.07 pCi/g.
This was approximately 3,000 times more than the 0.000023 pCi/mL concentration of
cesium-137 measured (using ultra-low level techniques) in water sampled from near River
Mile 120 during 1994.
In review of some other related literature (Rowan and Rasmussen, 1994; Mohler, et al.,
1997; and Whicker, et al., 1990) it is shown that the bioconcentration factor for cesium137 in fish varies greatly depending upon the 1) amount of dissolved potassium in the
water, 2) amount of suspended solids in the water, 3) temperature of the water, 4) trophic

SRT-EST-2003-00134
July 15, 2003

level of the fish (piscivores bioconcentrate cesium-137 much more that insectivores and
benthivores), and 5) length of the food chain.
In light of all this information, it appears that no single bioconcentration factor is ideal, but
the factor of 3,000 for cesium-137 in generic fish from the SRS is consistent with site data
and is conservative in comparison to the NRC default value. Therefore, it should continue
to be used as the site-specific factor in all applicable environmental dosimetry calculations
at SRS.

References:
Blaylock, B.G., 1982, Radionuclide Data Bases Available for Bioaccumulation Factors
for Freshwater Biota, Nuclear Safety, Vol. 23, No 4 pp 427-438.
Coughtrey, P.J. and M.C. Thorne, 1985, Radionuclide Distribution and Transport in
Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems, A.A. Balkema Publication, Boston MA.
Cummins, C.L., 1994, Radiological Bioconcentration Factors for Aquatic, Terrestrial,
and Wetland Ecosystems at the Savannah River Site, Savannah River Technology
Center, Aiken, SC.
Gladden, J.B., memorandum to M.H. Smith, 1982, Cs-137 Concentration Factor for
Savannah River Fish, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC.
Jannik, G.T., 1995, Radiological Impact of 1994 Operations at the Savannah River Site,
SRT-ETS-950087, Savannah River Technology Center, Aiken, SC.
Jorgensen, S.E., S.N. Nielson, and L.A. Jorgensen, 1991, Handbook of Ecological
Parameters and Ecotoxicology, pp 843-848, Elsevier, New York, NY.
Mohler, H.J., F.W. Whicker, and T.G. Hinton, 1997, Temporal trends of Cs-137 in an
Abandoned Reactor Cooling Reservoir, J. Environ. Radioactivity, Vol 37, No. 3,
pp 251-268, Great Britain.
Rowan, D.J., and J.B. Rasmussen, 1994, Bioaccumulation of Radiocesium by Fish: the
Influence of Physicochemical Factors and Trophic Structure, Canadian Journal of
Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Vol. 51, Number 11, pp 2388-2410.
Thompson, S.E., C.A. Burton, D.J. Quinn, and Y.C. Ng, 1972, Concentration Factors of
Chemical Elements in Edible Aquatic Organisms, TID-4500, UC-48,
URCL450564, Revision1, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, Livermore, CA.
Till, J.E., and H.R. Meyer, 1983, Radiological Assessment, A Textbook on Environmental
Dose Analysis, U.S. NRC, NUREG/CR-3332, Washingtion, D.C.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 1977, “Calculations of Annual Dose to Man from
Routine Releases of Reactor Effuents for the Purpose of Evalulation Compliance
with 10CFR Part 50, Appendix I, Regulatory Guide 1.109, Revision 1.
Washington, D.C.
Vanderploeg, H.A., D.C. Parzyck, W.H., W.H. Wilcox, J.R. Kercher, and S.V. Kaye,
1975, Bioaccumulation Factors for Radionuclides in Freshwater Biota, ORNL5002, ESD Publication 783, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN.
Whicker, F.W., J.E. Pinder, J.W. Bowling, J.J. Alberts, and I.L. Brisban, Distribution of
Long-Lived Radionuclides in an Abandoned Reactor Cooling Reservoir,
Ecological Monographs, 60(4), pp 471-496, Ecological Society of America.

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SRT-EST-2003-00134
July 15, 2003

cc:

J.B. Gladden, 773–42A
A.A. Simpkins, 773–42A
P.L. Lee, 773–42A
P.D. Fledderman, 735-B
Dosimetry Files (2)
J.M. Malanowski, 773–42A

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