title: Arrival of radionuclides released by the Fukushima accident to Tenerife (Canary Islands).
abstract: Two weeks after the accident at the Fukushima-Daichi nuclear power plant, 131I, 137Cs and 134Cs activities were measured in two different stations located in Tenerife (Canary Islands), situated at 300 (FIMERALL) and 2400 (IZAÑA) m.a.s.l, respectively. Peak measured activity concentrations were: 1.851 mBq/m3 (131I); 0.408 mBq/m3 (137Cs) and 0.382 mBq/m3 (134Cs). The activities measured at the FIMERALL station were always higher than at IZAÑA station, suggesting that the radioactive plume arrived to the island associated with low altitude air masses. Simulations of potential dispersion of the radioactive cloud (137Cs) after the nuclear accident in reactor Fukushima I show that radioactive pollution reached remote regions such as the Canary Islands in the Eastern subtropical North Atlantic. The corresponding effective dose to the local population was 1.17 nSv, a value less than one millionth of the annual limit for the general public. Therefore, there was no risk to public health.
authors.affiliation: Medical Physics and Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory, Department of Medical Physics and Pharmacology, University of La Laguna, 38320 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: López-Pérez
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ramos-López
authors.forename: Nayra R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Perestelo
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Duarte-Rodriguez
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Bustos
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alonso-Pérez
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cuevas
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hernández-Armas
mesh_terms: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D006801:Humans; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D013030:Spain
chemical_list: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes