Cs-134 in soils of the Western Canary Islands after the Chernobyl nuclear accident

134 Cs was measured in soil samples collected in the Western Canary Islands during a survey carried out in 1990–1991. This was 4 to 5 years after the Chernobyl Nuclear Power plant accident (1986). Models of the radioactive plumes did not show that 134 Cs released by the nuclear accident was transported directly from the accident site to these islands. In this work, we provide a possible explanation to how the 134 Cs may have been transported and deposited in soils of these islands after the accident. Intermittent inputs of mineral dust from Africa, in the form of intense dust storms, arrive to these islands every year. We believe that the 134 Cs from the accident may have been first deposited in Northern Africa, then resuspended and transported to the islands by various dust storms. Atmospheric records of African dust indicate that some strong events (high levels of particulate matter) took place in the 1986–1991 period. This hypothesis is supported by >20 years of aerosol data (2000−2022) collected at this site showing that 137 Cs, another isotope of radiocaesium, is resuspended and transported to these islands in connection with these type of African dust storms.