Activity of radioactive isotopes in the offshore seawater at vicinity areas of Phu Quy, Phu Quoc and Bach Long Vy islands

Abstract

In this work, activity of radioactive isotopes in some offshore seawater samples at vicinity areas of three islands has been investigated Phu Quy (Binh Thuan province), Phu Quoc (Kien Giang province), and Bach Long Vy (Hai Phong province). The ranges of radioactivity ²²⁶Ra, ²³⁸U, ¹³⁷Cs, ⁹⁰Sr, and ^239,240Pu in seawater at three offshore islands are 2.09 ÷ 4.77 mBq/L, 2.33 ÷ 4.95 mBq/L, 0.98 ÷ 1.45 mBq/L, 1.22 ÷ 1.49 mBq/L, and 0.0045 ÷ 0.0066 mBq/L, respectively. These values show that the radioactivities of the above-mentioned radionuclides differ between monitoring periods and between three offshore islands of Vietnam, but which is equal to or lower than the corresponding value according to others seas in Vietnam and Asia – Pacific. The correlation between radioisotopes and properties of seawater (pH, conductance, and salinity) is also shown in this study to assess their impact on the fluctuations of the above radinuclides.