Recent tritium concentration of monthly precipitation in Japan

Abstract

To obtain a better understanding of recent tritium concentration and its seasonal cycle in Japan, monthly precipitation samples were collected in Hokkaido, Gifu and Okinawa prefectures from June 2014 to December 2017. The arithmetic mean (± standard deviation) of tritium concentrations in precipitation samples from Hokkaido, Gifu and Okinawa were estimated to be 0.62 ± 0.27 Bq L-1, 0.32 ± 0.12 Bq L-1 and 0.13 ± 0.05 Bq L-1, respectively. These results indicate that the concentrations increase with latitude. In addition, the highest and the lowest concentrations appeared in spring and summer, respectively. To clarify the origins and sources of these cycles, further analyses of chemical compositions of precipitation and meteorological conditions are needed.