title: Elevated radioxenon detected remotely following the Fukushima nuclear accident.
abstract: We report on the first measurements of short-lived gaseous fission products detected outside of Japan following the Fukushima nuclear releases, which occurred after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. The measurements were conducted at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), (46°16'47″N, 119°16'53″W) located more than 7000 km from the emission point in Fukushima Japan (37°25'17″N, 141°1'57″E). First detections of (133)Xe were made starting early March 16, only four days following the earthquake. Maximum concentrations of (133)Xe were in excess of 40 Bq/m(3), which is more than ×40,000 the average concentration of this isotope is this part of the United States.
authors.affiliation: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, National Security Division, PO Box 999, Richland, WA, United States. ted.bowyer@pnl.gov
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Bowyer
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Biegalski
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Eslinger
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Haas
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Miley
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Strom
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Woods
mesh_terms: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000737:chemistry*; D001417:Background Radiation; D007564:Japan; D009688:Nuclear Reactors; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D011847:Radioactive Fallout / Q000032:analysis; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States; D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes