Liverpool to develop sensors for Fukushima monitoring

Researchers are seeking to understand what drives transport of radioactive material from the tree to the soil, through and across the soil, and eventually into agricultural crops and water resources Research at the University of Liverpool is developing new sensors that will help the recovery and regeneration of the post-disaster Fukushima region and pave the way for improved monitoring and control of radioactivity at nuclear sites worldwide. The new research, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), will develop ways to detect, measure and monitor nuclear radiation in the environment so that a radioactive substance beneath the ground can be located and monitored at higher resolution than previously. Continued release The continued releases of radioactive material from the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station in Japan, with the risks to water, coastal environments, agricultural land, animals and human health, have drawn international concern. As a result of this, the University team, which is made up of engineers, environmental scientists and physicists, aims to develop smaller and more accurate versions of detectors known as Compton-geometry sensors. The aim is to see how radioactivity moves with changes in water flow or sediment movement, and how the radiation in contaminated soil gets into the food chain through plants and animals. The new imaging sensor has the potential to significantly increase speed and scope, allowing more detailed measurements and more flexible experiment designs Dr Andrew Boston, from the Department of Physics , is responsible for the Compton-geometry sensors programme at Liverpool which has been supported in the last few years by funding from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).