Haruo Tsuruta1, Yasuji Oura2, Mitsuru Ebihara2, Toshimasa Ohara3 & Teruyuki Nakajima1

1Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan, 2Department of Chemistry, Tokyo
Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan, 3Fukushima Project Office, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan.
No observed data have been found in the Fukushima Prefecture (FP) for the time-series of atmospheric radionuclides concentrations just after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FD1NPP) accident.  Accordingly, current estimates of internal radiation doses from inhalation, and atmospheric radionuclide concentrations by atmospheric transport models are highly uncertain. Here, we present a new method for retrieving the hourly atmospheric 137Cs concentrations by measuring the radioactivity of suspended particulate matter (SPM) collected on filter tapes in SPM monitors which were operated even after the accident. This new dataset focused on the period of March 12–23, 2011 just after the accident, when massive radioactive materials were released from the FD1NPP to the atmosphere. Overall, 40 sites of the more than 400 sites in the air quality monitoring stations in eastern Japan were studied. For the first time, we show the spatio-temporal variation of atmospheric 137Cs concentrations in the FP and the Tokyo Metropolitan Area (TMA) located more than 170 km southwest of the FD1NPP. The comprehensive dataset revealed how the polluted air masses were transported to the FP and TMA, and can be used to re-evaluate internal exposure, time-series radionuclides release rates, and atmospheric transport models.

http://www.nature.com/srep/2014/141022/srep06717/pdf/srep06717.pdf