Since the double disaster of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that affected hundreds of thousands of people and seriously damaged the Fukushima Daichi power plant in Japan on 11 March 2011, traces of radioactive emissions from Fukushima have spread across the entire northern hemisphere. The radioactive isotope of iodine (131)I that was generated by the nuclear accident in Fukushima arrived in Greece on 24 March 2011. Radioactive iodine is present in the air either as gas or bound to particles (aerosols). The maximum (131)I concentrations were measured between 3 and 5 April 2011. In aerosols the maximum (131)I values measured in Southern Greece (Athens) and Northern Greece (Thessaloniki) were 585±70 and 408±61 μΒq m(-3), respectively. (131)I concentrations in gas were about 3.5 times higher than in aerosols. Since 29 April 2011, the (131)I concentration has been below detection limits. Traces of (137)Cs and (134)Cs were also measured in the air filters with an activity ratio of (137)Cs/(134)Cs equal to 1 and (131)I/(137)Cs activity ratio of about 3. Since 16 May 2011, the (137)Cs concentration in air has been determined to be about the same as before the Fukushima accident. Traces of (131)I were also measured in grass and milk. The maximum measured activity of (131)I in sheep milk was about 2 Bq l(-1) which is 5000 times less than that measured in Greece immediately after the Chernobyl accident. The measured activity concentrations of artificial radionuclides in Greece due to the Fukushima release, have been very low, with no impact on human health.

The radionuclides released during the accident at the Fukushima Daichii nuclear power plant following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011 were dispersed in the whole north hemisphere. Traces of (131)I, (134)Cs and (137)Cs reached Greece and were detected in air, grass, sheep milk, ground deposition, rainwater and drainage water. Members of Six Greek laboratories of the national network for environmental radioactivity monitoring have collaborated with the Greek Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and carried out measurements during the time period between 11 March 2011 and 10 May 2011 and reported their results to GAEC. These laboratories are sited in three Greek cities, Athens, Thessaloniki and Ioannina, covering a large part of the Greek territory. The concentrations of the radionuclides were studied as a function of time. The first indication for the arrival of the radionuclides in Greece originating from Fukushima accident took place on 24 March 2011. After 28 April 2011', concentrations of all the radionuclides were below the minimum detectable activities (<10 μBq m(-3) for (131)I). The range of concentration values in aerosol particles was 10-520 μBq m(-3) for (131)I, 10-200 μBq m(-3) for (134)Cs and 10-200 μBq m(-3) for (137)Cs and was 10-2200 μBq m(-3) for (131)I in gaseous phase. The ratios of (131)I/(137)Cs and (134)Cs/(137)Cs concentrations are also presented. For (131)I, the maximum concentration detected in grass was 2.2 Bq kg(-1). In the case of sheep milk, the maximum concentration detected for (131)I was 2 Bq l(-1). Furthermore, more than 200 samples of imported foodstuff have been measured in Greece, following the EC directives on the inspection of food and feeding stuffs.

Indoor radon concentrations were measured in 77 schools of the prefecture of Xanthi in northern Greece. The arithmetic mean radon concentration is 231 Bq m(-3) with a range between 45 and 958 Bq m(-3). Thirty five schools have mean radon concentration above 200 Bq m(-3) and nine schools have mean radon concentration above 400 Bq m(-3). From continuous radon gas measurements in the school with a relative higher radon concentration (958 Bq m(-3)) was deduced the 'true' radon concentration, defined as the radon concentration in the school during the hours of the presence of teachers and scholars. The mean 'true' radon concentration for a time period of about 2 weeks was 104 Bq m(-3). The mean radon concentration for the same 2 weeks was seven times higher (700 Bq m(-3)). Greek and International regulations for radon in workplaces refer to only the mean annual radon concentration. It would be preferable for schools to replace the mean annual radon concentration with the 'true' radon concentration.

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Medical examinations performed on four monks of a monastery in the northern Greece revealed heavy metal contamination. Hair analysis, performed by a toxicological laboratory abroad, indicated, among other, the presence of uranium. The uranium concentrations determined in a laboratory of "Elemental Hair Analysis' indicated a uranium level that was about five times the maximum value of the reference range, which has been adopted by the measuring laboratory. After these diagnostic findings, on request of 10 monks, uranium determination in hair and urine samples was performed by means of alpha spectrometry in GAEC's laboratory. The measured uranium concentrations in hair varied from 0.15 to 2.10 mBq g(-1), which correspond to 12.1 and 170 ng g(-1), respectively. The uranium concentrations in urine were between 41 and 174 ng d(-1). For comparison purposes, urine and non-dyed hair samples from the staff of the laboratory were analysed. Because one of the major sources of uranium intake is through drinking water, water samples were also analysed. The mean value of the uranium concentration in the two drinking water samples collected from the residence area was found to be 2.35 μg l(-1).