Monitoring of atmospheric radionuclides from the Fukushima nuclear accident and assessing their impact on Xi’an, China

Abstract

Aerosol radionuclides ( 131 I, 134 Cs, 137 Cs) and gaseous radioactive xenon ( 133 Xe) were monitored at Xi'an, China following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in March 2011. The additional annual effective dose attributable to the Fukushima emissions was much lower than the public annual effective dose from natural radiation, according to Chinese national standards. The monitoring results were compared with data from other countries as well as with the radionuclide concentrations observed in Xi'an after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986. Possible transport pathways of the released radionuclides from Fukushima to Xi'an were investigated. The occurrence of an anticyclone in the Pacific Ocean region and the extended period over which the radionuclides were released made the determination transport pathways complex, but divergence in the plume and easterly flow evidently brought the initial suite of radionuclides to Xi'an.

Predictability of the dispersion of Fukushima-derived radionuclides and their homogenization in the atmosphere

“…However, this early transport was not supported by other model and measurement results 3 14 19 53 . Contrary to these, detection of Fukushima-derived radionuclides was reported from a study in Xi’an, Central-Eastern China on 23 March with a significant peak on 25 March 54 , more according to our estimates. To assess this contradiction, we also used results from the online version of HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model) applied for the Fukushima case using the Transfer Coefficient Matrix (TCM) method 52 .…”

Artificial 137Cs and natural 40K in mushrooms from the subalpine region of the Minya Konka summit and Yunnan Province in China

“…Data on the environmental impact of the aboveground nuclear detonations and following the Chernobyl accident were sparse from China, but the impact of the Chernobyl accident was considered negligible, e.g., in the region of the city of Xi’an in the central region of China (Pang et al 1989 ). Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident was considered as having little or no impact on the environmental radiation levels in the region of the Xi’an in Shaanxi Province in the central part of China, and without impact on the environment and food chain from the farmlands of Sichuan Province in western China (Liu et al 2013 ; Shuai et al 2016 ). Fukushima’s radioactive plume arrived via global atmospheric circulation also to the southeastern fringe of the Tibetan plateau in the region of Minya Konka and to the northern part of the Yungui plateau; this was detected in the Guiyang region in Guizhou province in March 24–31, 2011.…”

“…There are no data published on contamination with 137 Cs of mushrooms from Minya Konka in the pre-Chernobyl period (up to April 26, 1986), which could reflect without any doubt an impact from global radioactive fallout because of the nuclear detonations. Nevertheless, the effects of the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents were considered negligible in China (Fesenko et al 2001 ; Liu et al 2013 ; Pang et al 1989 ; Wan et al 2014 ). Hence, the activity concentrations of 137 Cs in soils and mushrooms in Minya Konka can be a result of fallout from the aboveground nuclear detonations.…”

Radioactive artificial 137Cs and natural 40K activity in 21 edible mushrooms of the genus Boletus species from SW China

“…Also, the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident had little if any effect in China (Liu et al 2013; Povinec et al 2013; Shuai et al 2016; Wan et al 2014). Nevertheless, an internationally available data on radioactive fallout from the nuclear weapons tests and nuclear plants accidents are highly limited from China so far.…”