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Source Term<br />

There are various estimates of the amounts of radioactivity emitted to air, the so-called air source<br />

term, from Chernobyl and Fukushima.<br />

Table 11 provides estimates for the main nuclides released according to Fairlie 327 , Imanaka et al. 328<br />

and UNSCEAR 329 .<br />

Table 11 : Comparison of Atmospheric Releases from Nuclear Accidents (in PBq) 330<br />

Accidents Authors I-131 Cs-137 Xe-133<br />

Chernobyl<br />

Imanaka et al. 2015 1,760 85 6,500<br />

UNSCEAR 2008/11 1,700 86 6,500<br />

Fukushima<br />

Imanaka et al 2015 120 8.8 7,300<br />

UNSCEAR 2008/11 100-500 6-20 14,000<br />

The key points here are:<br />

• Broad agreement about source terms on Cs-137 and Xe-133. Wide range of I-131 estimates by<br />

UNSCEAR at Fukushima.<br />

• Release estimates for Chernobyl are much larger than those for Fukushima, about ten times<br />

greater for Cs-137 and I-131 which are the main volatile nuclides. For the noble inert gas Xe-<br />

133, the situation is reversed, as releases from Fukushima were about double those from<br />

Chernobyl. The main reason is that at Chernobyl one reactor exploded whereas at Fukushima,<br />

meltdowns occurred at three units, with each reactor releasing its entire gaseous inventory.<br />

Radiation Exposures<br />

The calculation of radiation exposure is based on complex modelling of exposure paths (external,<br />

internal, air, food path, etc.), as the actual doses delivered to the body have been measured only<br />

partially for a small number of people. Therefore, the exposure numbers indicated throughout this<br />

chapter have to be considered with circumspection. Also, radiation risks between a fetus and a<br />

grown-up adult vary by two orders of magnitude, and risks show high variability between<br />

individuals.<br />

indicates that, in the highest contaminated areas resulting from Chernobyl, the average dose was 9<br />

mSv in the first year after the accident. This is similar to the average dose received in the most<br />

contaminated area of Japan in Fukushima prefecture.<br />

327 Ian Fairlie, “TORCH-2016”, 31 March 2016, see<br />

https://www.global2000.at/sites/global/files/GLOBAL_TORCH%202016_rz_WEB_KORR.pdf, accessed 4 June 2016.<br />

328 Imanaka T. et al.,“Comparison of the accident process, radioactivity release and ground contamination<br />

between Chernobyl and Fukushima-1”, Journal of Radiation Research, 14 November 2015, see<br />

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4732534/, accessed 5 June 2016.<br />

329 UNSCEAR, “2008 Report to the General Assembly; Annex D Health Effects Due to the Chernobyl Nuclear<br />

Accident”, United Nations, New York. Note: Although UNSCEAR’s publication date was stated as 2008, the<br />

report was not released until 2011.<br />

330 1 petabecquerel (PBq) = 10 15 becquerels<br />

Mycle Schneider, Antony Froggatt et al. 101 World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2016

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