The Golden Horn estuary in the centre of Istanbul, has been exposed to many
pollutants from domestic and industrial waste effluent during the second half
of the 20th century. In this study, Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus
galloprovincialis) was seasonally collected from eight sites in the Golden
Horn estuary, Istanbul to determine the bioaccumulation of 137Cs, 40K, 210Po,
and 210Pb between 2013 and 2014. The averages activity concentrations of
137Cs, 40K, 210Po, and 210Pb were determined to be 1.36, 463, 91.64, and
11.51 Bqkg-1 at dry weight, respectively. Mussel samples were also
transplanted between the middle and lower part of the estuary to investigate
variations in the levels of radionuclides over the course of the year. Higher
concentrations were observed except for 210Po, compared with their initial
concentrations in the transplanted mussels. Besides, the average and range
annual effective ingestion dose values were calculated to be 11.96 and
2.23-34.45 ?Sv due to 210Po through consumption of mussels from the Golden
Horn. According to obtained dose levels, there is no health risk in terms of
210Po consumption of mussels.