[1A04-06] Analysis of Environmental Radioactivity

[1A05] A novel approach to distinguish radiocesium-carrying materials derived from the Fukushima nuclear accident

*Taiga Okumura¹, Noriko Yamaguchi², Toshihiro Kogure¹ (1. Univ. of Tokyo, 2. NARO)

Keywords:Radiocesium-bearing microparticle, Mineral particle, Fukushima nuclear accident, Acid treatment, Dissolution property

Radiocesium (RCs)-carrying materials derived from the Fukushima nuclear accident consist of RCs-sorbing minerals (CsSMs) and RCs-bearing silicate-glass microparticles (CsMPs). We reveal that while acid treatment has little effect on CsMPs, it significantly decreases the radioactivity of CsSMs due to dissolution. Using this difference, we established a method employing autoradiography or γ-ray spectroscopy for estimating the contributions of CsMPs and CsSMs to the total radioactivity of contaminated materials. Distribution of CsMPs in samples can also be elucidated without time-consuming microscopic analysis.