Aerial Measurement of Radioxenon Concentration off the West Coast of Vancouver Island following the Fukushima Reactor Accident

TL;DR

This study reports aerial measurements of radioxenon (Xe-133) off Vancouver Island after Fukushima, developing methods to extract concentrations from spectra, revealing average Xe-133 levels of 30-70 Bq/m3.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel aerial measurement approach and spectral analysis methods to quantify Xe-133 concentrations following a nuclear incident.

Findings

Xe-133 concentrations ranged from 30 to 70 Bq/m3

Spectral analysis successfully isolated Xe-133 signals

Background radiation levels remained consistent with normal levels

Abstract

In response to the Fukushima nuclear reactor accident, on March 20th, 2011, Natural Resources Canada conducted aerial radiation surveys over water just off of the west coast of Vancouver Island. Dose-rate levels were found to be consistent with background radiation, however a clear signal due to Xe-133 was observed. Methods to extract Xe-133 count rates from the measured spectra, and to determine the corresponding Xe-133 volumetric concentration, were developed. The measurements indicate that Xe-133 concentrations on average lie in the range of 30 to 70 Bq/m3.