Segregation and radioactive analysis of aerosols according to their aerodynamic size were performed in France, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, and Greece after the arrival of contaminated air masses following the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in March 2011. On the whole and regardless of the location, the highest activity levels correspond either to the finest particle fraction or to the upper size class. Regarding anthropogenic radionuclides, the activity median aerodynamic diameter (AMAD) ranged between 0.25 and 0.71 μm for (137)Cs, from 0.17 to 0.69 μm for (134)Cs, and from 0.30 to 0.53 μm for (131)I, thus in the "accumulation mode" of the ambient aerosol (0.1-1 μm). AMAD obtained for the naturally occurring radionuclides (7)Be and (210)Pb ranged from 0.20 to 0.53 μm and 0.29 to 0.52 μm, respectively. Regarding spatial variations, AMADs did not show large differences from place to place compared with what was observed concerning bulk airborne levels registered on the European scale. When air masses arrived in Europe, AMADs for (131)I were about half those for cesium isotopes. Higher AMAD for cesium probably results from higher AMAD observed at the early stage of the accident in Japan. Lower AMAD for (131)I can be explained by the adsorption of gaseous iodine on particles of all sizes met during transport, especially for small particles. Additionally, weathering conditions (rain) encountered during transport and in Europe in March and April contributed to the equilibrium of the gaseous to total (131)I ratio. AMAD slightly increased with time for (131)I whereas a clear decreasing trend was observed with the AMADs for (137)Cs and (134)Cs. On average, the associated geometric standard deviation (GSD) appeared to be higher for iodine than for cesium isotopes. These statements also bear out a gaseous (131)I transfer on ambient particles of a broad size range during transport. Highest weighted activity levels were found on the 0.49-0.95 μm and on the 0.18-0.36 μm size ranges in France and in Poland, respectively. The contribution from resuspension of old deposited (137)Cs was assessed for the coarse particle fractions only for the first sampling week.

The significant differences in the activities of 210Pb, 210Bi, 210Po and cosmogenic 7Be and 22Na radionuclides in the urban aerosol samples collected in the summers 2010 and 2011 in the Lodz city of Poland were observed. Simultaneous measurement of these radionuclides, after a simple modification of the one compartment model, allows us to calculate both: the corrected aerosol residence times in the troposphere (1 ÷ 25 days) and in the lower stratosphere (103 ÷ 205 days). The relative input of the additional sources (beside of the 222Rn decay in the air) to the total activity concentrations of 210Pb, 210Bi and 210Po radionuclides in the urban air, plays a substantial role (up to 97% of the total activity) only in the case of 210Po.

The presence of significant (210)Po activity, unsupported by its grandparent radionuclide (210)Pb, in the surface atmosphere of industrialized regions can originate from human technical activities. In urban air, the activity ratio of (210)Po to (210)Pb might increase as a result of natural condensation and coagulation processes of relatively volatile (210)Po-containing species emitted during coal combustion processes. The presence of excess of (210)Po cannot be explained by its in-growth from radioactive decay of (210)Bi. About 50% of (210)Po radionuclide released during coal combustion processes can be emitted into air as gaseous or ultrafine products. Subsequently, these products are quickly attached to the surface of fine particles suspended in the air. As a result, an excess of (210)Po activity in aerosols has been reported. However, in this manner, As much as 11 GBq of (210)Po per year can enter the urban air from the local coal power plants in Lodz city, Poland.

The first detectable activities of radioiodine (131)I, and radiocaesium (134)Cs and (137)Cs in the air over Central Poland were measured in dust samples collected by the ASS-500 station in the period of 21(st) to 24(th) of March, 2011. However, the highest activity of both fission products, (131)I and (137)Cs: 8.3 mBq m(-3) and 0.75 mBq m(-3), respectively, were obtained in the samples collected on 30(th) March, i.e.∼18 days after the beginning of the fission products' discharge from the damaged units of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The simultaneously determined corrected aerosol residence time for the same samples by (210)Pb/(210)Bi and (210)Pb/(210)Po methods was equal to 10 days. Additionally, on the basis of the activity ratio of two other natural cosmogenic radionuclides, (7)Be and (22)Na in these aerosol samples, it was possible to estimate the aerosol residence time at ∼150 days for the solid particles coming from the stratospheric fallout. These data, as well as the differences in the activity size distribution of (7)Be and (131)I in the air particulate matter, show, in contrast to the Chernobyl discharge, a negligible input of stratospheric transport of Fukushima-released fission products.

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The indoor 222Rn radionuclide was directly absorbed in typical 20 ml glass scintillation vials by passing −3 dm3 of ambient air through 16 ml of water-immiscible non-volataile scintillation cocktail Ultima-Gold F for 10 min. The activity of radon and its two α-emitting daughters: 218Po and 214Po, was determined with the BetaScout low-background liquid scintillation counter. The limit of 222Rn detection is 9 Bq/m3, and the quantification limit with 20% relative accuracy is 28 Bq/m3. The results of the indoor Rn measurement in different houses showed good consistency with results obtained from a Sarad EQF 3220 device.

Low-energy X and γ radiations (for example of 210Pb: Eγ = 46.5 keV) are effectively self-absorbed even in thin environmental samples, including air filters with captured dust or contaminated soil, as well as in bottom sediment matrixes with limited quantities of the samples. In this paper, a simple method for the direct analysis of 210Pb (T1/2 = 22.3 years) by gamma-ray spectrometry in environmental samples with self-absorption correction is described. The method is based on the comparison of two γ peak activities coming from other natural radionuclides, usually present in environmental samples. We have analyzed the dependence of the self-absorption correction factor for the 210Pb activity on the activity ratios of 911 and 209 keV peaks and 609 and 295 keV peaks coming from nuclides of 238U or 232Th rows, present in typical environmental samples.