Quantifying Atmospheric Fallout of Fukushima-Derived Radioactive Isotopes in Mushrooms in the Hawaiian Islands

Abstract

In March of 2011, the radioisotopes cesium-134 and cesium-137 were released into the atmosphere from the damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant. This study estimated the magnitude of atmospheric fallout of these isotopes on Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi, and examined the patterns of cesium wet deposition with precipitation in mushroom samples. This study found that Fukushima-derived cesium was present in mushrooms collected in the Hawaiian islands and that Fukushima-derived cesium inventories in mushrooms were somewhat correlated with precipitation gradients. The activities detected were several orders of magnitude lower than fallout associated with the nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific.