Radiation effects from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster PBq of caesium-137. In May 2012, TEPCO reported that at least 900 PBq had been released "into the atmosphere in March last year [2011] alone" up from previous estimates of 360-370 PBq total. The primary releases of radioactive nuclides have been iodine and caesium; strontium and plutonium have also been found. These elements have been released into the air via steam; and into the water leaking into groundwater or the ocean. The expert who prepared a frequently cited Austrian Meteorological Service report asserted that the "Chernobyl accident emitted much more radioactivity and a wider diversity of radioactive elements than Fukushima
Timeline of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster Economist reports that high levels of radioactive particles, including plutonium have been found in an extended irregular zone that extends well outside the 30 km evacuation radius around the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. A French study by the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety revealed that the Fukushima nuclear disaster caused the biggest discharge of radioactive material into the ocean in history. The radioactive caesium that flowed into the sea from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant was 20 times the amount estimated by its owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co. Atmospheric releases were cited as amounting to 35,800 terabecquerels