TY - JOUR

T1 - Identification, isolation, and characterization of a novel type of Fukushima-derived microparticle

AU - Macsik, Zsuzsanna

AU - Hudston, Lisa A.

AU - Wurth, Kimberly N.

AU - Meininger, Daniel

AU - Jesinghaus, Christian

AU - Tenner, Travis J.

AU - Naes, Benjamin E.

AU - Boswell, Mitzi

AU - Shozugawa, Katsumi

AU - LaMont, Stephen P.

AU - Steiner, Robert E.

AU - Steinhauser, Georg

N1 - Funding Information: We gratefully acknowledge funding of this study by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (project no. 419819104) and partial support by JSPS KAKENHI 19K12306. This work was supported by the US Departmentof Energy through the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Los AlamosNational Laboratory is operated by Triad National Security, LLC, for the National Nuclear Security Administration of U.S. Department of Energy (Contract No. 89233218CNA000001). This publication is LA-UR-22-24258.

PY - 2022/12

Y1 - 2022/12

N2 - In the course of the Fukushima nuclear accident, radionuclides were released in various forms, including so-called radiocesium-bearing microparticles (CsMP). So far, four types of CsMP were described: Type A is smaller in size (< 10 μm), Types B, C, and D are larger (> 100 μm). In this work, we present a novel type of CsMP (proclaimed Type E). Three particles of Type E were extracted from a contaminated blade of grass that was sampled 1.5 km from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in late 2011. They were located using autoradiography, isolated using an optical microscope and micromanipulator, and characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and low-level gamma-ray spectrometry. Type E CsMPs are 10–20 μm in size and exhibit an unusually low and barely detectable 137Cs activity of only ≤ 10 mBq per particle. Their brittle and fragile character may indicate a high surface tension.

AB - In the course of the Fukushima nuclear accident, radionuclides were released in various forms, including so-called radiocesium-bearing microparticles (CsMP). So far, four types of CsMP were described: Type A is smaller in size (< 10 μm), Types B, C, and D are larger (> 100 μm). In this work, we present a novel type of CsMP (proclaimed Type E). Three particles of Type E were extracted from a contaminated blade of grass that was sampled 1.5 km from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in late 2011. They were located using autoradiography, isolated using an optical microscope and micromanipulator, and characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and low-level gamma-ray spectrometry. Type E CsMPs are 10–20 μm in size and exhibit an unusually low and barely detectable 137Cs activity of only ≤ 10 mBq per particle. Their brittle and fragile character may indicate a high surface tension.

KW - Cs

KW - Cesium-rich granule

KW - Environmental radioactivity

KW - Fukushima

KW - Microparticles

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85141789907&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s10967-022-08561-1

DO - 10.1007/s10967-022-08561-1

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85141789907

VL - 331

SP - 5333

EP - 5341

JO - Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry

JF - Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry

SN - 0236-5731

IS - 12

ER -