Through the analysis of specific fallout particles in the environment, a joint UK-Japan team of 

scientists has uncovered new insights into the sequence of events that led to the Fukushima 

nuclear accident in March 2011.

The multi-organisation research, led by Dr. Peter Martin and Professor Tom Scott from the 

University of Bristol's South West Nuclear Hub in collaboration with scientists from Diamond 

Light Source, the UK

's national synchrotron facility, and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), has been 

published today in the journal Nature Communications.

Like the Chernobyl accident of April 1986, the incident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power 

Plant (FDNPP) has been classified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at Level 

7 (the most-severe) of the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) as a consequence of the 

large amount of radioactivity released into the environment.

Even  now,  eight  years  after  the  accident,  significant areas surrounding the plant remain 

evacuated due to the high levels of radioactivity that still exist. It is believed that some people 

may never be able to return to their homes as a consequence of the accident.

Following the isolation of the sub-mm particulate from environmental samples obtained from 

localities close to the FDNPP, the team first utilised the high-resolution combined X-ray 

tomography and X-ray fluorescence mapping capabilities of the Coherence Imaging (I13) 

beamline at the Diamond Light Source.

From these results, it was possible to determine the location of the various elemental 

constituents distributed throughout the highly-porous fallout particle, including the exact 

positions of micron-scale inclusions of uranium around the particles exterior.

Having identified these uranium inclusions, the team then analysed the specific physical and 

chemical nature of the uranium using the Microfocus Spectroscopy (I18) beamline at Diamond.