Environmental monitoring for radionuclides in marine ecosystems; Are species other than man protected adequately?

A central tenet of the nuclear industry's monitoring philosophy is that, if environmental levels of radioactivity are kept low enough to safeguard humans, then other species will also be protected. This paper reviews the background to this assumption and shows that, for species such as marine top predators, there are no supporting data. Thus, recent claims that radioecological studies on these species are unnecessary appear to be unfounded. A number of areas for future research are outlined and it is suggested that studies of marine top predators could lead to a greater understanding of the behaviour of radionuclides in the marine environment.