Distribution of 131I, 134Cs, 137Cs and 239,240Pu concentrations in Korean rainwater after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident

• Published in: Journal of radioanalytical and nuclear chemistry Vol. 296; no. 2; pp. 727 - 731
• Main Authors: Lee, Sang-Han, Heo, Dong-Hye, Kang, Han-Byeol, Oh, Pil-Jae, Lee, Jong-Man, Park, Tae-Soon, Lee, K. B., Oh, J. S., Suh, Jung-Ki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-05-2013
• Subjects: Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Diagnostic Radiology; Hadrons; Heavy Ions; Inorganic Chemistry; Nuclear Chemistry; Nuclear Physics; Physical Chemistry; Cs; Fukushima; Rainwater; I; Pu
• ISSN: 0236-5731; 1588-2780
• DOI: 10.1007/s10967-012-2030-5

Radionuclides such as
131
I,
134
Cs,
137
Cs, and
239,240
Pu in Korean rainwater have been analyzed by Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) since the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in March 2011 to investigate the activity level, distribution pattern, and temporal variation and to assess the radiation dose the public is exposed to. The concentration of
131
I in the Korean rainwater samples varied between 0.033 (minimum detectable activity; MDA) and 1.30 Bq kg
−1
and the concentrations tended to decrease exponentially with time. The concentrations of
134
Cs and
137
Cs in rainwater ranged from 0.01 to 334 ± 74 and 0.29 ± 0.01 to 276 ± 1 mBq kg
−1
, respectively. The mean activity ratio of
137
Cs/
134
Cs in the rainwater samples collected from April 18 to May 12 was estimated to be 0.44 ± 0.21, and this value is lower than that (ca. 1) observed in Fukushima, Japan, when there was an escape from the nuclear reactors. When an attempt was made to analyze Pu isotopes in rainwater samples, no Pu isotopes were detected above the MDA in any of the rainwater samples. Although the locations investigated were different from Asia to Europe, the concentrations of
131
I,
134
Cs and
137
Cs in the rainwater are comparable, which suggests a global contamination of
131
I,
134
Cs, and
137
Cs occurred because of the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident.