Speaker
Dr
Andreas Musilek
(Vienna University of Technology - Atominstitut)
Description
Following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan on 11 March 2011 and the resulting damages at the nuclear power plants in Fukushima, environmental samples were taken in Austria to determine the effects in Middle Europe, about 10 000 km away from Fukushima. Of course, the radiation-level in Austria resulting from this accident is very low, but can be measured with low-level gamma spectroscopy. In this paper air samples are analyzed to show which fission products can be verified and to calculate the concentration of their activities. The series of measurements started 2 weeks after the accident and were stopped 3 weeks later. The measurements yielded primarily I-131 and, occasionally, Cs-134 and Cs-137. A total of 15 samples were analyzed to demonstrate a time variation of air contamination. The maximum activity was observed on 29 March. Finally the results were compared with measurements of other European countries.
Authors
Dr
Andreas Musilek
(Vienna University of Technology - Atominstitut)
Mr
Dieter Hainz
(Vienna University of Technology - Atominstitut)
Dr
Georg Steinhauser
(Vienna University of Technology - Atominstitut)
