Synchrotron micro X-ray fluorescence analysis of radioactive air-particulates emitted by the nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima, Japan

A research team led by Professor I. Nakai (Tokyo University of Science, Japan) has recently clarified the detailed chemical nature of radioactive aerosol microparticles emitted during the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. They collected three fine particles of 2 microns in dia, containing radioactive cesium, on March 14th and 15th, 2011, in Tsukuba, 172 km away from the power plant. In addition to Fe, Zn, Rb, Zr, Mo, Sn, Sb, Te, Cs, and Ba, U was detected in two particles. The oxidation states of the heavy elements were also studied by X-ray absorption spectra. The experiments were done at BL37XU, SPring-8, Japan. For more information, see the paper, "Detection of Uranium and Chemical State Analysis of Individual Radioactive Microparticles Emitted from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Using Multiple Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Analyses", Y. Abe et al., Anal. Chem., 86, 8521 (2014).