Marine Chemistry 
System Nordsee 
31 
ters. These higher concentrations are attributable chiefly to the presence of resus 
pended material originating from highly polluted Irish Sea sediment. 
On average, the total effective dose per person and year in Germany is 4 mSv, half of 
which is attributable to medical treatments, especially x-ray diagnostics. The only path 
way through which radioactive contamination of the North Sea may contribute to radi 
ative exposure of the population is the consumption of fish and other seafood. Average 
consumption of 14 kg/a would result in an effective dose not exceeding 0.2 ¡iSv/a, 
which is far below the »trivial dose< of 10 ¡iSv/a specified in the German Radiation Pro 
tection Ordinance. As the enrichment of radionuclides in the food chain does not con 
tribute significantly to the total exposure of humans, this probably also applies to North 
Sea flora and fauna.