SURVEY OF ARTIFICIAL RADIONUCLIDES IN THE ANTARCTIC

In order to estimate the concentration and distribution of the environmental radioactivity in the Antarctic, artificial radionuclides such as ^Sr, ^Cs, ^Pu and ^Pu in soil, algae, lichen and water samples were determined. The average concentrations of artificial radionuclides in the environmental samples collected from the McMurdo Sound area and around Syowa Staiton during 1984 to 1987,were compared with those in the Northern Hemisphere. Concentrations of artificial radionuclides in the Antarctic for soil, sea water, lichen, oceanic life (krill, Euphausia superba), viscera of fish (Dissostichus mawsonii), etc. were several times lower than those in the Northern Hemisphere