Measurement of anthropogenic radionuclides in post-Fukushima Pacific seawater samples

• Authors: Guillaume Lutter , Faidra Tzika , Mikael Hult , Michio Aoyama , Yasunori Hamajima , Gerd Marissens , Heiko Stroh
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Following the accident at the Daiichi Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011, a vast number of Pacific seawater samples from many locations far from Fukushima have been collected by Japanese investigators. Due to dilution, the activities of radionuclides from North Pacific seawater samples are very low, which calls for extraordinary measures when being measured. This study focuses on the metrological aspects of the gamma-ray spectrometry measurements performed on such samples in two underground laboratories; at HADES (by JRC-IRMM in Belgium), and at Ogoya (by Kanazawa University in Japan). Due to many samples and long measurement times, all available HPGe detectors needed to be employed. In addition to single coaxial detectors, this involved multidetector systems and well detectors. Optimization of detection limits for different radionuclides and detectors was performed using Monte Carlo simulations.

Keywords

EN

detection limit · Fukushima · gamma-ray spectrometry · Monte Carlo · radiocesium · underground laboratory

• Publisher: De Gruyter Open
• Journal: Nukleonika
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 60
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 545-550

Dates

published

1 - 9 - 2015

accepted

20 - 5 - 2015

received

24 - 9 - 2014

online

25 - 9 - 2015

Contributors

author

Guillaume Lutter

• EC-JRC-IRMM, Retieseweg 111, B-2440 Geel, Belgium, Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone]

author

Faidra Tzika

• EC-JRC-IRMM, Retieseweg 111, B-2440 Geel, Belgium, Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone]

author

Mikael Hult

• EC-JRC-IRMM, Retieseweg 111, B-2440 Geel, Belgium, Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone]

author

Michio Aoyama

• Institute of Environmental Radioactivity, Fukushima University, 1 Kanayagawa, Fukushima, 963-8811 Japan and Meteorological Research Institute, 1-1 Nagamine, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0052, Japan

author

Yasunori Hamajima

• Kanazawa University, O-24 Tatsunokuchi, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1224, Japan

author

Gerd Marissens

• EC-JRC-IRMM, Retieseweg 111, B-2440 Geel, Belgium, Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone]

author

Heiko Stroh

• EC-JRC-IRMM, Retieseweg 111, B-2440 Geel, Belgium, Tel.: [phone], Fax: [phone]

References

• 1. Hirose, K., Aoyama, M., Igarashi, Y., & Komura, K. (2005). Ultra-sensitive mass spectrometric and other methods applied to environmental problems. J Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., 263, 349-353.
• 2. Aoyama, M., & Hirose, K. (2007). Radiometric determination of anthropogenic radionuclides in seawater. In P. Povinec (Ed.), Analysis of environmental radionuclides (pp. 137-162). Hungary: Elsevier.
• 3. Komura, K. (1998). Challenge to detection limit of environmental radioactivity. In Y. Ogawa & T. Tsujimoto (Eds.), Proceedings of the 1997 International Symposium on Environmental Radiation (pp. 56-75). Osaka, Japan: Kansai Kosaido Co.
• 4. Kanazawa University. (2014). Detectors in the Ogoya Underground Laboratory. Retrieved October 1st, 2014, from http://llrl.kuunet.ocn.ne.jp/oul/sub9.html.
• 5. Hamajima, Y., & Komura, K. (2004). Background components of Ge detectors in Ogoya Underground Laboratory. Appl. Radiat. Isot., 61, 179-183.
• 6. Komura, K., & Hamajima, Y. (2004). Ogoya Underground Laboratory for the measurement of extremely low levels of environmental radioactivity: review of recent projects carried out at OUL. Appl. Radiat. Isot., 61, 185-189.
• 7. Andreotti, E., Hult, M., Gonzalez de Orduña, R., Marissens, G., Mihailescu, M., Wätjen, U., & Van Marcke, P. (2011). Status of underground radioactivity measurements in HADES. In 3rd International Conference “Current Problems in Nuclear Physics and Atomic Energy”, 7-12 June 2010 (pp. 601-605). Ukraine: Publishing Department of KINR.
• 8. Wieslander, J. S. E., Hult, M., Gasparro, J., Marissens, G., Misiaszek, M., & Preusse, W. (2009). The sandwich spectrometer for ultra-low-level γ-ray spectrometry. Appl. Radiat. Isot., 67, 731-735.[WoS]
• 9. Lutter, G., Hult, M., Marissens, G., Andreotti, E., Rosengård, U., Misiaszek, M., Yüksel, A., & Sahin, N. (2013). A new versatile underground gamma-ray spectrometry system. Appl. Radiat. Isot., 81, 81-86.[WoS]
• 10. Ka wrakow, I. I., Mainegra-Hing, E., Rogers, D. W. O., Tessier, F., & Walters, B. R. B. (2011). The EGSnrc Code System: Monte Carlo simulation of electron and photon transport (4th printing). Ottawa, Canada: National Research Council of Canada. (Technical Report PIRS-701).
• 11. Gasparro, J., Hult, M., Johnston, P. N., & Tagziria, H. (2008). Monte Carlo modelling of Germanium crystals that are tilted and have rounded front edges. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. Sect. A-Accel. Spectrom. Dect. Assoc. Equip., 594, 196-201.
• 12. Hult, M. (2007). Low-level gamma-ray spectrometry using Ge detectors. Metrologia, 44, S87-S94 and: Erratum (2007). Metrologia, 44, 425. (Chapter 1.3.2).[WoS]
• 13. Lindahl, P., Hult, M., Cordeiro, F., Gasparro, J., Maquet, A., Marissens, G., & Kockerols, P. (2007). Improvements in underground gamma-ray spectrometry and the application of measuring radioactivity in agricultural samples. In P. Warwick (Ed.), Environmental radiochemical analysis III (pp. 86-94). UK: Royal Society of Chemistry.
• 14. Aoyama, M., Tsumune, D., Uematsu, M., Kondo, F., & Hamajima, Y. (2012). Temporal variation of 134Cs and 137Cs activities in surface water at stations along the coastline near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident site. Geochem. J., 46, 321-325.
• 15. Aoyama, M., & Hamajima, Y. (2014). Subduction of Fukushima accident derived radiocaesium in the Pacifi c Ocean (poster presentation). ICRER2014.
• 16. Aoyama, M., Tsumune, D., & Hamajima, Y. (2012). Distribution of 137Cs and 134Cs in the North Pacifi c Ocean: impacts of the TEPCO Fukushima-Daiichi NPP accident. J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., 296(1), 535-539.
• 17. Aoyama, M., Uematsu, M., Tsumune, D., & Hamajima, Y. (2013). Surface pathway of radioactive plume of TEPCO Fukushima NPP1 released 134Cs and 137Cs. Biogeosciences, 10(5), 3067-3078. [WoS]

Identifiers

DOI

10.1515/nuka-2015-0112