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Article Dans Une Revue Science of the Total Environment Année : 2020

Particulate plutonium released from the Fukushima Daiichi meltdowns

Eitaro Kurihara
  • Fonction : Auteur
Masato Takehara
  • Fonction : Auteur
Mizuki Suetake
  • Fonction : Auteur
Ryohei Ikehara
  • Fonction : Auteur
Tatsuki Komiya
  • Fonction : Auteur
Kazuya Morooka
  • Fonction : Auteur
Ryu Takami
  • Fonction : Auteur
Shinya Yamasaki
  • Fonction : Auteur
Toshihiko Ohnuki
  • Fonction : Auteur
Kenji Horie
  • Fonction : Auteur
Mami Takehara
  • Fonction : Auteur
Gareth T.W. Law
  • Fonction : Auteur
William Bower
  • Fonction : Auteur
J. Frederick W. Mosselmans
  • Fonction : Auteur
Peter Warnicke
  • Fonction : Auteur
Rodney C. Ewing
  • Fonction : Auteur
Satoshi Utsunomiya
  • Fonction : Auteur

Résumé

Traces of Pu have been detected in material released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) in March of 2011; however, to date the physical and chemical form of the Pu have remained unknown. Here we report the discovery of particulate Pu associated with cesium-rich microparticles (CsMPs) that formed in and were released from the reactors during the FDNPP meltdowns. The Cs-pollucite-based CsMP contained discrete U(IV)O2 nanoparticles, <~10 nm, one of which is enriched in Pu adjacent to fragments of Zr-cladding. The isotope ratios, 235U/238U, 240Pu/239Pu, and 242Pu/239Pu, of the CsMPs were determined to be ~0.0193, ~0.347, and ~0.065, respectively, which are consistent with the calculated isotopic ratios of irradiated-fuel fragments. Thus, considering the regional distribution of CsMPs, the long-distance dispersion of Pu from FNDPP is attributed to the transport by CsMPs that have incorporated nanoscale fuel fragments prior to their dispersion up to 230 km away from the Fukushima Daiichi reactor site.

Dates et versions

hal-02911972 , version 1 (04-08-2020)

Identifiants

Citer

Eitaro Kurihara, Masato Takehara, Mizuki Suetake, Ryohei Ikehara, Tatsuki Komiya, et al.. Particulate plutonium released from the Fukushima Daiichi meltdowns. Science of the Total Environment, 2020, 743, pp.140539. ⟨10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140539⟩. ⟨hal-02911972⟩
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