Identification

Title

Observations of Fukushima fallout in Great Britain

Abstract

Following the Fukushima accident in March 2011, grass samples were collected from 42 sites around Great Britain during April 2011. Iodine-131 was measurable in grass samples across the country with activity concentrations ranging from 10 to 55 Bq per kg dry matter. Concentrations were similar to those reported in other European countries. Rainwater and some foodstuffs were also analysed from a limited number of sites. Of these, I-131 was only detectable in sheep's milk (c. 2 Bq/kg). Caesium-134, which can be attributed to releases from the Fukushima reactors, was detectable in six of the grass samples (4-8 Bq/kg dry matter); 137Cs was detected in a larger number of grass samples although previous release sources (atmospheric weapons test and the 1986 Chernobyl and 1957 Windscale accidents) are likely to have contributed to this. All data and information for this sampling are available from this record. The data result from collaboration between CEH and the University of Stirling. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/1a91c7d1-ec44-4858-9af2-98d80f169bbd

Resource type

dataset

Resource locator

https://data-package.ceh.ac.uk/data/1a91c7d1-ec44-4858-9af2-98d80f169bbd

description: Download a copy of this data

function: download

https://data-package.ceh.ac.uk/sd/1a91c7d1-ec44-4858-9af2-98d80f169bbd.zip

description: Documents available to assist with re-use of this dataset.

function: information

Unique resource identifier

code

1312373222406

codeSpace

CEH:EIDC:

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

environment

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Environmental Monitoring Facilities

originating controlled vocabulary

title

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2008-06-01

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

-8.648

East bounding longitude

1.768

North bounding latitude

60.861

South bounding latitude

49.864

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

2011-03-01

End position

2011-05-31

Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2011-12-31

date type

creation

effective date

2011-08-03

Frequency of update

asNeeded

Quality and validity

Lineage

Fresh grass and other vegetation samples were finely chopped and accurately weighed into 950 ml plastic containers prior to gamma analyses. Milk (sheep and goat), rainwater and homogenised egg content samples were accurately weighed into either 150 ml or 950 ml plastic containers depending upon the sample volume available. To determine the activity concentration of gamma-emitting radionuclides, fresh samples were analysed on hyper-pure germanium detectors as soon as possible after sampling and counted for 1-2 days depending upon their 131I activity concentration. The detectors are calibrated against standards of various density and volume, and the facilities regularly participate in proficiency testing schemes.

Conformity

Conformity report

specification

title

Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2010-12-08

degree

explanation

Data format

name of format

Comma-separated values (CSV)

version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Limitations on public access

Constraint set

Limitations on public access

Constraint set

Limitations on public access

If you reuse this data, you should cite: Beresford, N.A., Barnett, C.L., Howard, B.J., Howard, D.C., Tyler, A.N., Bradley, S., Copplestone, D. (2011). Observations of Fukushima fallout in Great Britain. NERC Environmental Information Data Centre https://doi.org/10.5285/1a91c7d1-ec44-4858-9af2-98d80f169bbd