Investigation of the radiation of Cs-137 and the half life of Ba-137m in the release water from nuclear reactor

Abstract

Nuclear radiation is the release of energy in the form of high-speed charged particles or electromagnetic waves, producing ions. High doses ionizing radiation can damage cells or organs and even cause death. In 2011, a tsunami struck near Fukushima, Japan, caused a serious radiation accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station. This paper investigates the release of treated wastewater from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean and focuses the transformation of Cs-137 into Ba-137m and whether Ba-137m poses significant radioactive hazards in order to find out whether the treatment of Cs-137 by the plant is appropriate. Firstly, I simulated and studied the relationship between output signals of the Geiger tube at the different operating high voltage. Then, I have analytically studied the half-life of Ba-137m radiation source and obtained a half-life result through fitting (133 seconds). Finally, some discussion results of the release of treated wastewater were described.