title: Source term estimation of radioxenon released from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear reactors using measured air concentrations and atmospheric transport modeling.
abstract: Systems designed to monitor airborne radionuclides released from underground nuclear explosions detected radioactive fallout across the northern hemisphere resulting from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011. Sampling data from multiple International Modeling System locations are combined with atmospheric transport modeling to estimate the magnitude and time sequence of releases of (133)Xe. Modeled dilution factors at five different detection locations were combined with 57 atmospheric concentration measurements of (133)Xe taken from March 18 to March 23 to estimate the source term. This analysis suggests that 92% of the 1.24 × 10(19) Bq of (133)Xe present in the three operating reactors at the time of the earthquake was released to the atmosphere over a 3 d period. An uncertainty analysis bounds the release estimates to 54-129% of available (133)Xe inventory.
authors.affiliation: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Risk and Decision Sciences Group, 902 Battelle Blvd, P.O. Box 999, MSIN K7-76, Richland, WA 99354, USA. Electronic address: paul.w.eslinger@pnnl.gov.
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Eslinger
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Biegalski
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Bowyer
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Haas
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Korpach
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Miley
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Rishel
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ungar
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: V T
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Woods
mesh_terms: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D001272:Atmosphere; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D011847:Radioactive Fallout / Q000032:analysis*; D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes
keywords: (133)Xe; Atmospheric modeling; Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP; Source term estimation