Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 451-456 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Science of the Total Environment |
| Volume | 689 |
| Early online date | 24 Jun 2019 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Nov 2019 |
Abstract
Following the Fukushima nuclear accident (2011), radionuclides mostly of volatile elements (e.g., 131I, 134,137Cs, 132Te) have been investigated frequently for their presence in the atmosphere, pedosphere, biosphere, and the Pacific Ocean. Smaller releases of radionuclides with intermediate volatility, (e.g., 90Sr), have been reported for soil. However, few reports have been published which targeted the contamination of surface (fresh) waters in Japan soon after the accident. In the present study, 10 surface water samples (collected on April 10, 2011) have been screened for their radionuclide content (3H, 90Sr, 129I, 134Cs, and 137Cs), revealing partly unusually high contamination levels. Especially high tritium levels (184 ± 2 Bq·L−1; the highest levels ever reported in scientific literature after Fukushima) were found in a puddle water sample from close to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The ratios between paddy/puddle water from one location only a few meters apart vary around 1% for 134Cs, 12% for 129I (131I), and around 40% for both 3H and 90Sr. This illustrates the adsorption of radiocesium on natural minerals and radioiodine on organic substances (in the rice paddy), whereas the concentration differences of 3H and 90Sr between the two waters are mainly dilution driven.
Keywords
- H, Fukushima nuclear accident, Radiocesium, Radioiodine, Radiostrontium, Surface water
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Science(all)
- Environmental Engineering
- Environmental Science(all)
- Environmental Chemistry
- Environmental Science(all)
- Waste Management and Disposal
- Environmental Science(all)
- Pollution
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In: Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 689, 01.11.2019, p. 451-456.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Radionuclides in surface waters around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi NPP one month after the accident
T2 - Evidence of significant tritium release into the environment
AU - Querfeld, Rebecca
AU - Pasi, Anna Elina
AU - Shozugawa, Katsumi
AU - Vockenhuber, Christof
AU - Synal, Hans Arno
AU - Steier, P.
AU - Steinhauser, Georg
N1 - Funding Information: We kindly thank the Siebold-Sasse Foundation for financial support for A-EP. Thanks are due to Alex Hölzer, Monika Gorny, and Beate Riebe (all IRS) for their help with iodine sample preparation and data evaluating.
PY - 2019/11/1
Y1 - 2019/11/1
N2 - Following the Fukushima nuclear accident (2011), radionuclides mostly of volatile elements (e.g., 131I, 134,137Cs, 132Te) have been investigated frequently for their presence in the atmosphere, pedosphere, biosphere, and the Pacific Ocean. Smaller releases of radionuclides with intermediate volatility, (e.g., 90Sr), have been reported for soil. However, few reports have been published which targeted the contamination of surface (fresh) waters in Japan soon after the accident. In the present study, 10 surface water samples (collected on April 10, 2011) have been screened for their radionuclide content (3H, 90Sr, 129I, 134Cs, and 137Cs), revealing partly unusually high contamination levels. Especially high tritium levels (184 ± 2 Bq·L−1; the highest levels ever reported in scientific literature after Fukushima) were found in a puddle water sample from close to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The ratios between paddy/puddle water from one location only a few meters apart vary around 1% for 134Cs, 12% for 129I (131I), and around 40% for both 3H and 90Sr. This illustrates the adsorption of radiocesium on natural minerals and radioiodine on organic substances (in the rice paddy), whereas the concentration differences of 3H and 90Sr between the two waters are mainly dilution driven.
AB - Following the Fukushima nuclear accident (2011), radionuclides mostly of volatile elements (e.g., 131I, 134,137Cs, 132Te) have been investigated frequently for their presence in the atmosphere, pedosphere, biosphere, and the Pacific Ocean. Smaller releases of radionuclides with intermediate volatility, (e.g., 90Sr), have been reported for soil. However, few reports have been published which targeted the contamination of surface (fresh) waters in Japan soon after the accident. In the present study, 10 surface water samples (collected on April 10, 2011) have been screened for their radionuclide content (3H, 90Sr, 129I, 134Cs, and 137Cs), revealing partly unusually high contamination levels. Especially high tritium levels (184 ± 2 Bq·L−1; the highest levels ever reported in scientific literature after Fukushima) were found in a puddle water sample from close to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The ratios between paddy/puddle water from one location only a few meters apart vary around 1% for 134Cs, 12% for 129I (131I), and around 40% for both 3H and 90Sr. This illustrates the adsorption of radiocesium on natural minerals and radioiodine on organic substances (in the rice paddy), whereas the concentration differences of 3H and 90Sr between the two waters are mainly dilution driven.
KW - H
KW - Fukushima nuclear accident
KW - Radiocesium
KW - Radioiodine
KW - Radiostrontium
KW - Surface water
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85068204374&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.362
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.362
M3 - Article
C2 - 31279192
AN - SCOPUS:85068204374
VL - 689
SP - 451
EP - 456
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
SN - 0048-9697
ER -