Size distribution of radioactive particles collected at Tokai, Japan 6 days after the nuclear accident

Miyamoto, Yutaka; Yasuda, Kenichiro; Magara, Masaaki

doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2014.01.010

Cited by 44 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Input meteorological data are mainly from the surface weather stations in Fukushima Prefecture from 12 to 15 March, 2011 and show the following: 16 and −1.5 • C for air temperature, 21 and −5 • C for ground surface temperature, 800 and 0 W m −1 for solar radiation, 30 and 70 % for relative humidity during the daytime and nighttime, respectively. equivalent particle diameters are set to 0.5 and 1.5 µm for 131 I and other radionuclides, respectively, based on the observational results at JAEA-Tokai from 17 March to 1 April (Miyamoto et al, 2014) with a geometric standard deviation of 1.6 µm (Kaneyasu et al, 2012). Figure A1 illustrates the dry deposition velocity of 131 I, gaseous I 2 and CH 3 I, and particulate iodine and 137 Cs (expecting the chemical form of CsI) for grassland and forest against horizontal wind speed for a typical sunny period during the accident.…”

Section: A2 Dry Deposition Of Particlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detailed source term estimation of the atmospheric release for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident by coupling simulations of an atmospheric dispersion model with an improved deposition scheme and oceanic dispersion model

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Temporal variations in the amount of radionuclides released into the atmosphere during the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FNPS1) accident and their atmospheric and marine dispersion are essential to evaluate the environmental impacts and resultant radiological doses to the public. In this paper, we estimate the detailed atmospheric releases during the accident using a reverse estimation method which calculates the release rates of radionuclides by comparing measurements of air concentration of a radionuclide or its dose rate in the environment with the ones calculated by atmospheric and oceanic transport, dispersion and deposition models. The atmospheric and oceanic models used are WSPEEDI-II (Worldwide version of System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information) and SEA-GEARN-FDM (Finite difference oceanic dispersion model), both developed by the authors. A sophisticated deposition scheme, which deals with dry and fog-water depositions, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activation, and subsequent wet scavenging due to mixed-phase cloud microphysics (in-cloud scavenging) for radioactive iodine gas (I2 and CH3I) and other particles (CsI, Cs, and Te), was incorporated into WSPEEDI-II to improve the surface deposition calculations. The results revealed that the major releases of radionuclides due to the FNPS1 accident occurred in the following periods during March 2011: the afternoon of 12 March due to the wet venting and hydrogen explosion at Unit 1, midnight of 14 March when the SRV (safety relief valve) was opened three times at Unit 2, the morning and night of 15 March, and the morning of 16 March. According to the simulation results, the highest radioactive contamination areas around FNPS1 were created from 15 to 16 March by complicated interactions among rainfall, plume movements, and the temporal variation of release rates. The simulation by WSPEEDI-II using the new source term reproduced the local and regional patterns of cumulative surface deposition of total 131I and 137Cs and air dose rate obtained by airborne surveys. The new source term was also tested using three atmospheric dispersion models (Modèle Lagrangien de Dispersion de Particules d'ordre zéro: MLDP0, Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model: HYSPLIT, and Met Office's Numerical Atmospheric-dispersion Modelling Environment: NAME) for regional and global calculations, and the calculated results showed good agreement with observed air concentration and surface deposition of 137Cs in eastern Japan.

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Section: A2 Dry Deposition Of Particlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detailed source term estimation of the atmospheric release for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident by coupling simulations of an atmospheric dispersion model with an improved deposition scheme and oceanic dispersion model

et al. 2015

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“…Unfortunately, since additional or extended measurements except for Be-aerosols measured at various seasons during last six years with the same manner mentioned in the text radioactivity measurements could not been done on that occasion, all we can do in this stage is only a matter of speculation with scarce experimental evidence. There are several reports concerning size distributions of airborne radionuclides from the Fukushima accident [4][5][6][7][8][9]; in addition, for the Chernobyl accident there also exist comparable data [10][11][12][13][14][15]. For the measurements in Japan, the size distributions of radiocesium are partly different each other probably depending on the emission process from the reactors or transportation mechanism due to different sampling date and distance from the reactor site.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size-distribution of airborne radioactive particles from the Fukushima accident

Muramatsu

Kawasumi

Kondo

et al. 2014

J Radioanal Nucl Chem

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The particle size distribution of radioactive aerosols, which originated from the released radioactive materials from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, has been observed using the Andersen-type classifier combined with a high volume air sampler. Estimated activity median aerodynamic diameters (AMADs) of 131 I-, 134 Cs-and 137 Cs-aerosols were ranging from 0.56 to 0.60 lm, which were larger than that of 7 Be-aerosols existing as an aerosol including cosmogenic radionuclide, about 0.2 lm.

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“…It has been established that particulate matter (PM) was released from the FDNPP and was dispersed as an atmospheric aerosol around the globe (Malá et al ; Masson et al ; Miyamoto et al ; Muramatsu et al ). Physicochemical properties of radioactive spherical particles from the FDNPP have been documented (Adachi et al ; Niimura et al ; Abe et al ; Yamaguchi et al ).…”

Section: Second Lesson: Study Fukushima Not Radiation Alonementioning

confidence: 99%

Fukushima's lessons from the blue butterfly: A risk assessment of the human living environment in the post-Fukushima era

Otaki

2016

Integr Environ Assess Manag

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A series of studies on the pale grass blue butterfly that were carried out to assess the biological effects of the Fukushima nuclear accident teach 3 important lessons. First, it is necessary to have an environmental indicator species, such as the pale grass blue butterfly in Japan, that is common (not endangered), shares a living environment (air, water, and soil) with humans, and is amenable to laboratory experiments. The monitoring of such indicator species before and immediately after a nuclear accident likely reflects acute impacts caused by initial exposure. To assess transgenerational and chronic effects, continuous monitoring over time is encouraged. Second, it is important to understand the actual health status of a polluted region and comprehend the whole picture of the pollution impacts, rather than focusing on the selected effects of radiation alone. In our butterfly experiments, plant leaves from Fukushima were fed to larval butterflies to access whole-body effects, focusing on survival rate and morphological abnormalities (rather than focusing on a specific disease or biochemical marker). Our results revealed that ionizing radiation is unlikely to be the exclusive source of environmental disturbances. Airborne particulate matter from a nuclear reactor, regardless of its radioactivity, is likely equally important. Finally, our butterfly experiments demonstrate that there is considerable variation in sensitivities to nuclear pollution within a single species or even within a local population. Based on these results, it is speculated that high pollution sensitivity in humans may be caused not only by low levels of functional DNA repair enzymes but also by immunological responses to particulate matter in the respiratory tract. These lessons from the pale grass blue butterfly should be integrated in studying future nuclear pollution events and decision making on nuclear and environmental policies at the local and international levels in the postFukushima era. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2016;12:667-672. © 2016 SETAC.

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Size distribution of radioactive particles collected at Tokai, Japan 6 days after the nuclear accident

Cited by 44 publications

References 15 publications

Detailed source term estimation of the atmospheric release for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident by coupling simulations of an atmospheric dispersion model with an improved deposition scheme and oceanic dispersion model

Detailed source term estimation of the atmospheric release for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident by coupling simulations of an atmospheric dispersion model with an improved deposition scheme and oceanic dispersion model

Size-distribution of airborne radioactive particles from the Fukushima accident

Fukushima's lessons from the blue butterfly: A risk assessment of the human living environment in the post-Fukushima era

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