A team at Fukushima University has drawn up a radiation dispersion map for the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant by measuring airborne radiation levels at about 370 locations in Fukushima Prefecture.
A team at Fukushima University has drawn up a radiation dispersion map for the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant by measuring airborne radiation levels at about 370 locations in Fukushima Prefecture.
The map indicates high levels of radiation spreading over the municipalities of Namie and Iitate, which are located northwest of the plant. The results are similar to simulation projection mapping generated by the national System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information (SPEEDI).
In addition, low levels of radiation were detected close to the city of Fukushima. Northwest of the plant, there are areas between Namie and Fukushima that show low levels of radiation.
The radiation measurement team divided areas in the eastern and central parts of the prefecture outside a 20-kilometer radius of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into 2-kilometer-square zones.
The 20-member team measured airborne radiation levels 1 meter above ground as they drove from one zone to another during the last week of March. The team compiled the data collected through March 30 and released it in map form.