Global Transport and Deposition of 137 Cs Following the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident in Japan: Emphasis on Europe and Asia Using High−Resolution Model Versions and Radiological Impact Assessment of the Human Population and the Environment Using Interactive Tools

• Published in: Environmental Science & Technology
• Main Authors: Evangeliou, Nikolaos, Balkanski, Yves, Cozic, Anne, Pape Møller, Anders
• Other Authors: Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement Gif-sur-Yvette (LSCE), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Modelling the Earth Response to Multiple Anthropogenic Interactions and Dynamics (MERMAID), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Calcul Scientifique (CALCULS), Ecologie Systématique et Evolution (ESE), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2013
• Subjects: [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-AO-PH]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics [physics.ao-ph]; [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes; [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; [SDV.EE.SANT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology; environment/Health; Fukushima; North Pole; Pacific
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02874073; https://doi.org/10.1021/es400372u

International audience The earthquake and the subsequent tsunami that occurred offshore of Japan resulted in an important loss of life and a serious accident at the nuclear facility of Fukushima. The “hot spots” of the release are evaluated here applying the model LMDZORINCA for 137Cs. Moreover, an assessment is attempted for the population and the environment using the dosimetric scheme of the WHO and the interactive tool ERICA, respectively. Cesium-137 was deposited mostly in Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and North Pole (80%), whereas the rest in the continental areas of North America and Eurasia contributed slightly to the natural background (0.5–5.0 kBq m–2). The effective dose from 137Cs and 134Cs (radiocesium) irradiation during the first 3 months was estimated between 1–5 mSv in Fukushima and the neighboring prefectures. In the rest of Japan, the respective doses were found to be less than 0.5 mSv, whereas in the rest of the world it was less than 0.1 mSv. Such doses are equivalent with the obtained dose from a simple X-ray; for the highly contaminated regions, they are close to the dose limit for exposure due to radon inhalation (10 mSv). The calculated dose rates from radiocesium exposure on reference organisms ranged from 0.03 to 0.18 μGy h–1, which are 2 orders of magnitude below the screening dose limit (10 μGy h–1) that could result in obvious effects on the population. However, these results may underestimate the real situation, since stable soil density was used in the calculations, a zero radiocesium background was assumed, and dose only from two radionuclides was estimated, while more that 40 radionuclides have been deposited in the vicinity of the facility. When monitoring data applied, much higher dose rates were estimated certifying ecological risk for small mammals and reptiles in terms of cytogenetic damage and reproduction.