Assessment of individual radionuclide distributions from the Fukushima nuclear accident covering central-east Japan

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Abstract

A tremendous amount of radioactivity was discharged because of the damage to cooling systems of nuclear reactors in the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011. Fukushima and its adjacent prefectures were contaminated with fission products from the accident. Here, we show a geographical distribution of radioactive iodine, tellurium, and cesium in the surface soils of central-east Japan as determined by gamma-ray spectrometry. Especially in Fukushima prefecture, contaminated area spreads around Iitate and Naka-Dori for all the radionuclides we measured. Distributions of the radionuclides were affected by the physical state of each nuclide as well as geographical features. Considering meteorological conditions, it is concluded that the radioactive material transported on March 15 was the major contributor to contamination in Fukushima prefecture, whereas the radioactive material transported on March 21 was the major source in Ibaraki, Tochigi, Saitama, and Chiba prefectures and in Tokyo.

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A review on speciation of iodine-129 in the environmental and biological samples.

Xiaolin Hou, Violeta Hansen, Ala Aldahan … (2009)

As a long-lived beta-emitting radioisotope of iodine, (129)I is produced both naturally and as a result of human nuclear activities. At present time, the main part of (129)I in the environment originates from the human nuclear activity, especially the releases from the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, the (129)I/(127)I ratios have being reached to values of 10(-10) to 10(-4) in the environment from 10(-12) in the pre-nuclear era. In this article, we review the occurrence, sources, inventory, and concentration level of (129)I in environment and the method for speciation analysis of (129)I in the environment. Measurement techniques for the determination of (129)I are presented and compared. An overview of applications of (129)I speciation in various scientific disciplines such as radiation protection, waste depository, and environmental sciences is given. In addition, the bioavailability and radiation toxicity (dose to thyroid) of (129)I are discussed.