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Pre- and Post-Accident 14C Activities in tree rings near the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 December 2019
Abstract
Areas affected by routine radiocarbon (14C) discharges from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) and accidental releases in March 2011 were investigated by analysis of cores from Japanese cypress and cedar trees growing at sites 9 and 24 km northwest of the plant. 14C concentrations in tree rings from 2008–2014 (before and after the accident) were determined by accelerator mass spectrometry, with 14C activities in the range 231–256 Bq kg−1 C. Activities during the period 2012–2014, after FDNPP shutdown, represent background levels, while the significantly higher levels recorded during 2008–2010, before the accident, indicate uptake of 14C from routine FDNPP operations. The mean excess 14C activity for the pre-accident period at the sites 9 and 24 km northwest of the plant were 21 and 12 Bq kg−1 C, respectively, indicating that the area of influence during routine FDNPP operations extended at least 24 km northwest. The mean excess tree-ring 14C activities in 2011 were 10 and 5.8 Bq kg−1 C at 9 and 24 km northwest, respectively, documenting possible impact of the FDNPP accident on 14C levels in trees.
- Type
- Conference Paper
- Information
- Radiocarbon , Volume 61 , Issue 6: Radiocarbon 2018 Conference Proceedings Trondheim, Norway, June 17–22, 2018 Part 2 of 2 , December 2019 , pp. 1633 - 1642
- Copyright
- © 2019 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona
Footnotes
Selected Papers from the 23rd International Radiocarbon Conference, Trondheim, Norway, 17–22 June, 2018
References
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