Radiocarbon Releases from the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Accident.

ABSTRACT: Radiocarbon activities were measured in annual tree rings for the years 2009 to 2015 from Japanese cedar trees (Cryptomeria japonica) collected at six sites ranging from 2.5-38 km northwest and north of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. The ¹⁴C specific activity varied from 280.4 Bq kg^-1 C in 2010 to 226.0 Bq kg^-1 C in 2015. The elevated ¹⁴C activities in the 2009 and 2010 rings confirmed ¹⁴C discharges during routine reactor operations, whereas those activities that were indistinguishable from background in 2012-2015 coincided with the permanent shutdown of the reactors after the accident in 2011. High-resolution ¹⁴C analysis of the 2011 ring indicated ¹⁴C releases during the Fukushima accident. The res

SUBMITTER: Xu S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5107918 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature