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Environmental radioactivity measurements in north–western Greece following the Fukushima nuclear accident

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Abstract

The impact of the Fukushima nuclear accident in north–western Greece was assessed through an environmental monitoring programme activated by the Nuclear Physics Laboratory of the University of Ioannina. Measurements of 131I were carried out in atmospheric particulate, ovine milk and grass samples. In daily aerosol samplings, radioiodine was first detected on March 25–26, 2011 and reached maximum levels, up to 294 μBq m−3, between April 2 and April 4, 2011. In ovine milk samples, 131I concentrations ranged from 2.0 to 2.7 Bq L−1 between April 2 and April 6, 2011, while an average activity of 2.7 Bq kg−1 was measured in grass samples on April 4, 2011. The 134,137Cs isotopes were below detection limits in all samples and could only be determined in the air, by analysis of multiple daily filters. A maximum average activity concentration of 137Cs amounting to 24 μBq m−3 was measured during the period from April 5 to April 9, 2011, with the 134Cs/137Cs activity ratio being close to unity. Activity concentrations were consistent with measurements conducted in other parts of the country and were well below those reported in May 1986 after the Chernobyl accident. The committed effective dose to the whole body and to the thyroid gland from inhalation of 131I was estimated for the adult and infant population and was found to be of no concern for the public health.

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Acknowledgments

Gamma-spectrometry measurements were carried out in the facilities of the Archaeometry Center of the Network of Research Supporting Laboratories of the University of Ioannina.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, 451 10, Ioannina, Greece

    K. Ioannides & C. Papachristodoulou

  2. Archaeometry Center, University of Ioannina, 451 10, Ioannina, Greece

    K. Ioannides & K. Stamoulis

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  1. K. Ioannides
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  2. K. Stamoulis
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  3. C. Papachristodoulou
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Correspondence to K. Ioannides.

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Ioannides, K., Stamoulis, K. & Papachristodoulou, C. Environmental radioactivity measurements in north–western Greece following the Fukushima nuclear accident. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 298, 1207–1213 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-013-2527-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-013-2527-6

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