Decontamination of outdoor school swimming pools in Fukushima

Saegusa, Jun

After the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident following the Great East Japan Earthquake, not a few school swimming pools in Fukushima prefecture have suspended water discharge, due to concerns that pool water which contains radioactive fallout is discharged into a river or waterway for agricultural use. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency conducted researches and examinations on the existing absorbent method and the flocculation method as ways for decontaminating pool water. By reviewing and improving these methods through decontamination demonstrations at eight pools in Fukushima prefecture, a practical decontamination method for school pools has been established. This report summarizes the methods and results of the decontamination demonstrations carried out at the schools.