Journal article
Tracking of Airborne Radionuclides from the Damaged Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Reactors by European Networks
Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire1
Universitá degli Studi di Milano2
Icelandic Radiation Safety Authority3
Vienna University of Technology4
Health Protection Agency5
Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland6
Comenius University7
Radiological Monitoring and Data Acquisition Network8
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki9
Central Laboratory for Radiological Protection10
University of Belgrade11
Laruex12
Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety GmbH13
Defence Forces Technical Research Centre14
Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority15
National Institute of Public Health and the Environment16
Ministry of Health Luxembourg17
University College Dublin18
Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority19
Center for Physical Sciences and Technology20
National Radiation Protection Institute21
Radioecology and Tracer Studies, Radiation Research Division, Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark22
Federal Office for Radiation Protection23
Radiation Research Division, Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark24
Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark25
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences26
International Atomic Energy Agency27
Republican Center of Radiation Control and Environment Monitoring28
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency29
Federal Agency for Nuclear Control30
Federal Office of Public Health31
University of Bologna32
Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health33
Polish Academy of Sciences34
Polytechnic University of Catalonia35
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt36
Italian Network for the Radioactivity Environmental Monitoring37
Instituto Tecnológico e Nuclear38
Babes-Bolyai University39
Deutscher Wetterdienst40
Swedish Defence Research Agency41
...and 31 moreRadioactive emissions into the atmosphere from the damaged reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant (NPP) started on March 12th, 2011. Among the various radionuclides released, iodine-131 (131I) and cesium isotopes (137Cs and 134Cs) were transported across the Pacific toward the North American continent and reached Europe despite dispersion and washout along the route of the contaminated air masses.
In Europe, the first signs of the releases were detected 7 days later while the first peak of activity level was observed between March 28th and March 30th. Time variations over a 20-day period and spatial variations across more than 150 sampling locations in Europe made it possible to characterize the contaminated air masses.
After the Chernobyl accident, only a few measurements of the gaseous 131I fraction were conducted compared to the number of measurements for the particulate fraction. Several studies had already pointed out the importance of the gaseous 131I and the large underestimation of the total 131I airborne activity level, and subsequent calculations of inhalation dose, if neglected.
The measurements made across Europe following the releases from the Fukushima NPP reactors have provided a significant amount of new data on the ratio of the gaseous 131I fraction to total 131I, both on a spatial scale and its temporal variation. It can be pointed out that during the Fukushima event, the 134Cs to 137Cs ratio proved to be different from that observed after the Chernobyl accident.
The data set provided in this paper is the most comprehensive survey of the main relevant airborne radionuclides from the Fukushima reactors, measured across Europe. A rough estimate of the total 131I inventory that has passed over Europe during this period was
| Language: | English |
|---|---|
| Year: | 2011 |
| Pages: | 7670-7677 |
| ISSN: | 15205851 and 0013936x |
| Types: | Journal article |
| DOI: | 10.1021/es2017158 |
| ORCIDs: | Nielsen, Sven Poul |
