Two Reports: A Lot More Radiation Was Released from Fukushima Dai-ichi Than Japan's Official Estimations

Recent research revealed that far more radiation was released into the atmosphere and ocean from Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant than the Japanese government and TEPCO have estimated.

1. Atmosphere

Stohl et al. (2011) argue that 35.8 peta Bq of cesium-137 was released into the atmosphere, which is twice the Japanese government's estimations (cesium-137 = 13 peta Bq (JAEA) or 15 peta Bq (NISA)).

2. Ocean

Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN) estimated that 27 peta Bq of cesium-137 was released into the ocean, which is 20 times as much as TEPCO's estimation (Cesium-137 = 1 peta Bq) or 6 times the Japanese government's estimation (cesium-137 = 4 peta Bq (JAEA)).

Notes:

JAEA  = Japan Atomic Energy Agency

NISA  = Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency

TEPCO = Tokyo Electric Power Company

Sources:

Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire. (2011). Synthèse actualisée des connaissances relatives à l’impact sur le milieu marin des rejets radioactifs du site nucléaire accidenté de Fukushima Dai-ichi. Fontenay-aux-Roses, France: Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire. Retrieved from goo.gl/6Rtql

Rough English translation: http://houseoffoust.com/group/?p=3818

Kawamura, H., Kobayashi, T., Furuno, A., In, T., Ishikawa, Y., Nakayama, T., . . . Awaji, T. (2011). Preliminary Numerical Experiments on Oceanic Dispersion of ¹³¹I and ¹³⁷Cs Discharged into the Ocean because of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Disaster. Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 48(11), 1349-1356. doi: 10.3327/jnst.48.1349

Stohl, A., Seibert, P., Wotawa, G., Arnold, D., Burkhart, J. F., Eckhardt, S., Tapia, C., Vargas, A., & Yasunari, T. J. (2011). Xenon-133 and caesium-137 releases into the atmosphere from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant: determination of the source term, atmospheric dispersion, and deposition. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussion, 11, 28319-28394. doi: 10.5194/acpd-11-28319-2011