title: Radiostrontium in the western North Pacific: characteristics, behavior, and the Fukushima impact.
abstract: The impact of the Fukushima-derived radiostrontium ((90)Sr and (89)Sr) on the western North Pacific Ocean has not been well established, although (90)Sr concentrations recorded in surface seawater offshore of the damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant were in some areas comparable to or even higher than (as those in December 2011 with 400 kBq m(-3)(90)Sr) the (137)Cs levels. The total amount of (90)Sr released to the marine environment in the form of highly radioactive wastewater could reach about 1 PBq. Long-term series (1960-2010) of (90)Sr concentration measurements in subtropical surface waters of the western North Pacific indicated that its concentration has been decreasing gradually with a half-life of 14 y. The pre-Fukushima (90)Sr levels in surface waters, including coastal waters near Fukushima, were estimated to be 1 Bq m(-3). To better assess the impact of about 4-5 orders of magnitude increased radiostrontium levels on the marine environment, more detail measurements in seawater and biota of the western North Pacific are required.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Physics and Biophysics, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia. povinec@fmph.uniba.sk
authors.forename: Pavel P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Povinec
authors.forename: Katsumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirose
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aoyama
mesh_terms: D055866:Earthquakes; D007564:Japan; D055848:Nuclear Power Plants; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release; D013326:Strontium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D057192:Tsunamis; D014878:Water Pollution, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D013326:Strontium Radioisotopes