Time series for sea water and seaweed of Tc and Sb originating from releases at La Hague

⁹⁹Tc and ¹²⁵Sb have been released in low level liquid waste at the reprocessing plant at La Hague (Fr). Over a number of years data have been obtained on the concentration of ⁹⁹Tc in sea water and in seaweed from sampling locations close to and at increasing distances north and east of the point of release into the English Channel.In addition such data have been obtained on ¹²⁵Sb for a small number of sampling points. These time series, and the information derived from their intercomparison and from comparison with the release data, are presented in this paper.Time series on ⁹⁹Tc as well as ¹²⁵Sb in sea water and seaweed clearly confirm a considerable decrease in release rates at La Hague over the years 1986–1993. Transit times and transfer factors derived from the series are generally in good agreement with the results of modelling efforts. The data do not provide evidence for a time lag between levels of the radionuclides in sea water and those in seaweed longer than a few months.The very high concentration factors for ⁹⁹Tc in brown seaweeds make these seaweeds very useful for environmental monitoring the radionuclide at low release rates and to trace releases in areas remote from the point of release.