Fukushima's forgotten radionuclides: a review of the understudied radioactive emissions

Details

• Personal Author:
  Steinhauser G
• Description:
  In environmental monitoring campaigns for anthropogenic radionuclides released in the course of the Fukushima nuclear accident (2011), most focus had been on gamma-emitting radionuclides. More than 99% of the released activity was due to radionuclides of the elements Kr, Te, I, Xe, and Cs. However, little work had been done on the monitoring of radionuclides other than 131I, 132Te, 134Cs, 136Cs, and 137Cs. Radionuclides such as those of less volatile elements (e.g., 89Sr, 90Sr, 103Ru, 106Ru, plutonium), pure beta-emitters (3H, 14C, 35S), gaseous radionuclides (85Kr, 133Xe, 135Xe) or radionuclides with very long half-lives (e.g., 36Cl, 99Tc, 129I, some actinides such as 236U) have been understudied by comparison. In this review, we summarize previous monitoring work on these "orphan" radionuclides in various environmental media and outline further challenges for future monitoring campaigns. Some of the understudied radionuclides are of radiological concern, others are promising tracers for environmental, geochemical processes such as oceanic mixing. Unfortunately, the shorter-lived nuclides of radioxenon, 103Ru, 89Sr and 35S will no longer exhibit detectable activities in the environment. Activity concentrations of other radionuclides such as tritium, 14C, or 85Kr will become blurred in the significant background of previous releases (nuclear explosions and previous accidents). Isotope ratios such as 240Pu/239Pu will allow for the identification of Fukushima plutonium despite the plutonium background. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Exposure Environmental Health Environmental Pollution Nuclear Power Plants Occupational Health Radiation Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Environmental-contamination Environmental-exposure Environmental-hazards Environmental-health Environmental-pollution Exposure-levels Gamma-radiation Gamma-rays Monitoring-systems Nuclear-energy Nuclear-hazards Nuclear-power-plants Radioactive-contaminants Radioactive-dusts Radioactive-materials Radioactive-particles Radionuclides Risk-factors

  More +
• ISSN:
  0013-936X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  48
• Issue:
  9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045175
• Citation:
  Environ Sci Technol 2014 May; 48(9):4649-4663
• Email:
  georg.steinhauser@colostate.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Cesium-137 (CAS RN 10045-97-3)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  University of Colorado, Denver
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20070701
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Science and Technology
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8a9e0ca6c9751007406f6f8d0d3d4efb9a60183c6fc2960f9be71719fc1265e17515c562c932a9b1c21968ddfb2e97866b5e61e16369ac80bb866937b480d789
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200690/cdc_200690_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.03 MB ]