It goes without saying that the impact of building a new nuclear power plant on the surrounding area must be monitored, and the new Kudankulam plant on the south eastern tip of India is no exception.
M. Feroz Khan and colleagues from Sadakathdulla Appa College, India, have carried out a careful study into the current activity levels of certain radionucleotides in edible crabs to establish baseline data for the Kudankulam coast. Crabs have been studied comparatively little in comparison to other marine animals but are extremely relevant study specimen given the proximity to a major Indian tourist destination and the popularity of seafood.
The study highlighted significant differences in accumulated concentrations of the two radionucleotides and notably found that the concentrations of both were reduced in the crab meat – well within international standards for safe consumption.
So for now we can chow down happily on our crab cakes – but it will be interesting to see how this data compares to future studies, once the new plant is operational.
To read the full report download the paper – it’s free to access until the end of February!
Biomonitoring 210Po and 210Pb in marine brachyuran crabs collected along the coast of Kudankulam, Gulf of Mannar (GOM), India
M. Feroz Khan, S. Umarajeswari and S. Godwin Wesley
J. Environ. Monit., 2011
DOI: 10.1039/C0EM00723D
