On March 11, 2011, following the mega-earthquake and destructive tsunami on the east coast of Japan, the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) explosions, which were rated at International Nuclear and Radiological Event Level 7, released large quantities of radioactive materials into the environment. Worldwide emergency monitoring activities were carried out immediately in order to evaluate the impact of this accident. This article introduces the emergency monitoring in China of environmental samples during the events of nuclear leakage in March 2011. 17 environmental samples were collected, and the concentration of γ emitting radionuclides was analyzed. Detectable levels of some of the anthropogenic gamma-emitters (131I and 137Cs) originating from the Fukushima accident were measured in a group of spinach and pakchois samples over Hangzhou area. Only 131I was detected among the same group of samples after washing. The monitoring results showed that the 131I and 137Cs detected environmental in vegetables were from surface deposition. However, the activity concentrations of 131I and 137Cs in spinach samples were 0.65 and 0.27 Bq/Kg (wet weight), respectively, far below the intervention level of general consumer food (1000 Bq/Kg). During the Fukushima accident, radionuclides were not detectable in oysters or fish environmental samples obtained in Zhejiang province for the radioactive deposition was diluted by seawater, hence the bioaccumulation was limited. This study showed that radionuclides from the Fukushima accident were detectable in vegetables (pakchois, spinach) as a result of atmospheric deposition, however, the result of very low levels of radionuclides in the food stuffs indicates trivial influence on the environment by the accident.

The Radioactivity Monitoring of Environmental Samples in Zhejiang During the Events of Nuclear Leakage in Japan

Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ICONE/ICONE28/volume/85246

2021 28th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE28)

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