Details
| Originalsprache | Englisch |
|---|---|
| Aufsatznummer | 2988 |
| Fachzeitschrift | Scientific Reports |
| Jahrgang | 3 |
| Publikationsstatus | Veröffentlicht - 29 Okt. 2013 |
Abstract
The contamination of Japan after the Fukushima accident has been investigated mainly for volatile fission products, but only sparsely for actinides such as plutonium. Only small releases of actinides were estimated in Fukushima. Plutonium is still omnipresent in the environment from previous atmospheric nuclear weapons tests. We investigated soil and plants sampled at different hot spots in Japan, searching for reactor-borne plutonium using its isotopic ratio 240Pu/239Pu. By using accelerator mass spectrometry, we clearly demonstrated the release of Pu from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant: While most samples contained only the radionuclide signature of fallout plutonium, there is at least one vegetation sample whose isotope ratio (0.381 6 0.046) evidences that the Pu originates from a nuclear reactor (2391240Pu activity concentration 0.49 Bq/kg). Plutonium content and isotope ratios differ considerably even for very close sampling locations, e.g. the soil and the plants growing on it. This strong localization indicates a particulate Pu release, which is of high radiological risk if incorporated.
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in: Scientific Reports, Jahrgang 3, 2988, 29.10.2013.
Publikation: Beitrag in Fachzeitschrift › Artikel › Forschung › Peer-Review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Plutonium release from Fukushima Daiichi fosters the need for more detailed investigations
AU - Schneider, Stephanie
AU - Walther, Clemens
AU - Bister, Stefan
AU - Schauer, Viktoria
AU - Christl, Marcus
AU - Synal, Hans Arno
AU - Shozugawa, Katsumi
AU - Steinhauser, Georg
N1 - Funding information: This publication was supported by Grant Number T42OH009229-07 from CDC NIOSH Mountain and Plains Education and Research Center. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC NIOSH and MAP ERC. GS gratefully acknowledges funding by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), grant number NRC-HQ-12-G-38-0044. The Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics is partially funded by its consortium partners EAWAG, EMPA, and PSI.
PY - 2013/10/29
Y1 - 2013/10/29
N2 - The contamination of Japan after the Fukushima accident has been investigated mainly for volatile fission products, but only sparsely for actinides such as plutonium. Only small releases of actinides were estimated in Fukushima. Plutonium is still omnipresent in the environment from previous atmospheric nuclear weapons tests. We investigated soil and plants sampled at different hot spots in Japan, searching for reactor-borne plutonium using its isotopic ratio 240Pu/239Pu. By using accelerator mass spectrometry, we clearly demonstrated the release of Pu from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant: While most samples contained only the radionuclide signature of fallout plutonium, there is at least one vegetation sample whose isotope ratio (0.381 6 0.046) evidences that the Pu originates from a nuclear reactor (2391240Pu activity concentration 0.49 Bq/kg). Plutonium content and isotope ratios differ considerably even for very close sampling locations, e.g. the soil and the plants growing on it. This strong localization indicates a particulate Pu release, which is of high radiological risk if incorporated.
AB - The contamination of Japan after the Fukushima accident has been investigated mainly for volatile fission products, but only sparsely for actinides such as plutonium. Only small releases of actinides were estimated in Fukushima. Plutonium is still omnipresent in the environment from previous atmospheric nuclear weapons tests. We investigated soil and plants sampled at different hot spots in Japan, searching for reactor-borne plutonium using its isotopic ratio 240Pu/239Pu. By using accelerator mass spectrometry, we clearly demonstrated the release of Pu from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant: While most samples contained only the radionuclide signature of fallout plutonium, there is at least one vegetation sample whose isotope ratio (0.381 6 0.046) evidences that the Pu originates from a nuclear reactor (2391240Pu activity concentration 0.49 Bq/kg). Plutonium content and isotope ratios differ considerably even for very close sampling locations, e.g. the soil and the plants growing on it. This strong localization indicates a particulate Pu release, which is of high radiological risk if incorporated.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84886247530&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/srep02988
DO - 10.1038/srep02988
M3 - Article
C2 - 24136192
AN - SCOPUS:84886247530
VL - 3
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
SN - 2045-2322
M1 - 2988
ER -