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Updated: May 31, 2026

Speciation and Bioavailability Measurements of Environmental Plutonium Using Diffusion in Thin Films
Published on: November 9, 2015
Fukushima fallout in Northwest German environmental media
Daniela Pittauerová1, Bernd Hettwig, Helmut W Fischer
1University of Bremen, Institute of Environmental Physics, Otto-Hahn-Allee 1, D-28359 Bremen, Germany. pittauerova@iup.physik.uni-bremen.de
Abstract:
Traces of short- and long-lived fallout isotopes ((131)I, (134)Cs and (137)Cs) were found in environmental samples collected in Northwest Germany (rain water, river sediment, soil, grass and cow milk) from March to May 2011, following the radioactivity releases after the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan. The measured concentrations are consistent with reported concentrations in air, amount of rainfall and expected values applying simple radioecological models. The [(134)Cs]/[(137)Cs] ratio reported for air (about 1) allows for discrimination between "recent" and "old"(137)Cs. Expected (136)Cs values fell below the detection limits of the instrumentation, despite large sample masses and long counting times.
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