Review on the Gross Beta Activity in Rainwater Observed throughout Japan in 1954

Abstract

Rainwater containing radioactive materials originating from the USA’s nuclear weapon test conducted at Bikini Atoll was observed throughout Japan in 1954. It has been reported that the maximum gross beta activity observed at that time in Kyoto was 523 pCi/mL (19,000 Bq/L). This measurement, however, focused on the gross beta activity contained in a small amount of rain sampled at the beginning of rainfall, which is different from present observations that are based on the average gross beta activity contained in rain collected during a 24-h period. As a result of reviewing and converting the 1954 data to be equivalent to current measurement, the maximum value was reduced to 50 pCi/mL (1,800 Bq/L), with a resultant surface deposition density of 310 mCi/km² (11,000 MBq/km²). These values are well below 1/10 of the past maximum observed a few days after China’s fifth nuclear weapon test in 1966.