'Black rain' from the Nagasaki atomic bomb recorded in Nishiyama reservoir sediments.

The explosion of a plutonium atomic bomb over Nagasaki city took place on 9 August 1945. After the explosion, a cloud formed, which passed over the Nishiyama district, where 'black rain' fell. Thus, the Nishiyama reservoir, located approximately 3 km from the hypocenter, received the heaviest radioactive fallout from the Nagasaki atomic bomb. Sediment samples were collected from the bottom of the Nishiyama reservoir in 1999 and analyzed for their 137Cs, 241Am and charcoal concentrations. The stratigraphic distribution of 137Cs and charcoal clearly indicate that the 'black rain' horizon is recognized in the Nishiyama reservoir sediments. The 'black rain' horizon contains anthropogenic radionuclides (137Cs and 241Am) and charcoal in high concentrations.