title: Isotopic Pu, Am and Cm signatures in environmental samples contaminated by the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.
abstract: Dust samples from the sides of roads (black substances) have been collected together with litter and soil samples at more than 100 sites contaminated heavily in the 20-km exclusion zones around Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) (Minamisoma City, and Namie, Futaba and Okuma Towns), in Iitate Village located from 25 to 45 km northwest of the plant and in southern areas from the plant. Isotopes of Pu, Am and Cm have been measured in the samples to evaluate their total releases into the environment from the FDNPP and to get the isotopic compositions among these nuclides. For black substances and litter samples, in addition to Pu isotopes, (241)Am, (242)Cm and (243,244)Cm were determined for most of samples examined, while for soil samples, only Pu isotopes were determined. The results provided a coherent data set on (239,240)Pu inventories and isotopic composition among these transuranic nuclides. When these activity ratios were compared with those for fuel core inventories in the FDNPP accident estimated by a group at JAEA, except (239,240)Pu/(137)Cs activity ratios, fairly good agreements were found, indicating that transuranic nuclides, probably in the forms of fine particles, were released into the environment without their large fractionations. The obtained data may lead to more accurate information about the on-site situation (e.g., burn-up, conditions of fuel during the release phase, etc.), which would be difficult to get otherwise, and more detailed information on the dispersion and deposition processes of transuranic nuclides and the behavior of these nuclides in the environment.
authors: Low Level Radioactivity Laboratory, Kanazawa University, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1224, Japan. Electronic address: pluto@llrl.ku-unet.ocn.ne.jp.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Yamamoto
authors: Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Sakaguchi
authors: Low Level Radioactivity Laboratory, Kanazawa University, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1224, Japan.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Ochiai
authors: Low Level Radioactivity Laboratory, Kanazawa University, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1224, Japan.
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Takada
authors: Low Level Radioactivity Laboratory, Kanazawa University, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1224, Japan.
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Hamataka
authors: Low Level Radioactivity Laboratory, Kanazawa University, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1224, Japan.
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Murakami
authors: Low Level Radioactivity Laboratory, Kanazawa University, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1224, Japan.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Nagao
mesh_terms: D000576:Americium / Q000032:analysis*; D003476:Curium / Q000032:analysis*; D004391:Dust; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D005843:Geography; D007564:Japan; D055848:Nuclear Power Plants; D011005:Plutonium / Q000032:analysis*; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011847:Radioactive Fallout / Q000032:analysis*; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D004391:Dust; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive; D011005:Plutonium; D003476:Curium; D000576:Americium
keywords: Am; Black substances; Cm; FDNPP accident; Pu; Radioactive Cs