title: Assessment of individual radionuclide distributions from the Fukushima nuclear accident covering central-east Japan.
abstract: A tremendous amount of radioactivity was discharged because of the damage to cooling systems of nuclear reactors in the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011. Fukushima and its adjacent prefectures were contaminated with fission products from the accident. Here, we show a geographical distribution of radioactive iodine, tellurium, and cesium in the surface soils of central-east Japan as determined by gamma-ray spectrometry. Especially in Fukushima prefecture, contaminated area spreads around Iitate and Naka-Dori for all the radionuclides we measured. Distributions of the radionuclides were affected by the physical state of each nuclide as well as geographical features. Considering meteorological conditions, it is concluded that the radioactive material transported on March 15 was the major contributor to contamination in Fukushima prefecture, whereas the radioactive material transported on March 21 was the major source in Ibaraki, Tochigi, Saitama, and Chiba prefectures and in Tokyo.
authors.affiliation: Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Group, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Ten-nodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8577, Japan. norikazu.kinoshita@shimz.co.jp
authors.forename: Norikazu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sueki
authors.forename: Kimikazu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sasa
authors.forename: Jun-ichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kitagawa
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ikarashi
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: Ying-Shee
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Yukihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Satou
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Handa
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Takeyasu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamagata
mesh_terms: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis; D055866:Earthquakes; D005843:Geography; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis; D007564:Japan; D009688:Nuclear Reactors; D011847:Radioactive Fallout / Q000032:analysis*; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis; D013051:Spectrometry, Gamma
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D011868:Radioisotopes; D012987:Soil; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive
references.citation: Anal Chim Acta. 2009 Jan 26;632(2):181-96
references.pmid: 19110092
references.citation: J Environ Radioact. 2009 Sep;100(9):704-15
references.pmid: 19111373
references.citation: Sci Total Environ. 1987 Dec;67(2-3):149-58
references.pmid: 3438739