BfS - Fukushima - Environmental impact of the Fukushima accident: Radiological situation in Japan
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Environmental impact of the Fukushima accident: Radiological situation in Japan
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Radioactive fallout was dispersed over land and sea by wind and precipitation.
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Areas to the north-west of the reactor plant received high levels of
contamination
, especially in the prefecture of Fukushima.
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Almost no foodstuffs in Japan are still contaminated today, with wild boar being one exception.
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Radioactive material continues to enter the water used to cool the Fukushima reactors.
Deposition of caesium-137 in Japan following the Fukushima reactor accident
Source:
UNSCEAR 2013 Report, Volume I, ANNEX A, Figure B-VIII / reproduced by permission of UNSCEAR
The
reactor accident in Fukushima
in 2011 resulted in the
release
of radioactive material (
radionuclides
) into the atmosphere. The radioactive fallout was dispersed locally, regionally and globally over land and sea by the weather (wind and precipitation).
After the
accident
in Fukushima, areas to the north-west of the reactor plant received high levels of
contamination
, particularly in the prefecture of Fukushima. Outside of Japan, the level of
contamination
with radioactive material from the Fukushima reactors was low.
Relevant radionuclides
Radionuclides of the elements iodine, tellurium (which decays into radioactive iodine) and caesium were particularly relevant in terms of the
radioactive contamination
of the environment, as well as that of
humans.
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Half-lives of up to eight days mean that radioactive iodine released in a reactor
accident
disappears from the environment after about three months. This was also the case in Fukushima.
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Contamination with radioactive caesium, with a
half-life
of up to around 30 years, remains in the environment for a long time. It is principally responsible for the increased
radiation
levels still present in the area around Fukushima.
Contamination of foodstuffs and water in Japan
Foodstuffs were contaminated by radioactive material that was deposited on the leaves or directly on agricultural produce such as fruit and vegetables, or that was absorbed via the roots of fruit and vegetable crops.
As a result of the Fukushima
accident
, not only was radioactive material released into the atmosphere, but it also entered the water – primarily the water that was fed into the reactors for emergency cooling, but also the groundwater penetrating into the reactor. Large quantities of contaminated water were pumped out of the reactor, cleaned of radioactivity by filtering and stored in numerous tanks on the reactor site.
Information on the
radiation exposure
of the Japanese population can be found in the article
"Health consequences of the accident of Fukushima".