Sediment environmental capacity of 137Cs in Daya Bay

Abstract

Sediment environmental capacity of pollutants is very important for marine environmental management. Based on the methodology of a study on water, soil environmental capacity, and mass conservation theory in a system, the concept and model on sediment environmental capacity for ¹³⁷Cs in Daya Bay were developed. The static capacity for ¹³⁷Cs in the upper sediment near the shore at a shallow area was calculated, and the annual dynamic capacity and total dynamic capacity were also calculated through determination of the typical biomass in the sediment. The results showed that the estimated environmental capacity for ¹³⁷Cs in sediments was approximately equal to the current input of ¹³⁷Cs into the sediments. Controlling the input of ¹³⁷Cs in the sediments within the environmental capacity guarantees the sustainability of the current situation of the Daya Bay ecosystem and avoidance of a significant degradation of the system.