Dose estimation in recycling of decontamination soil resulting from the Fukushima NPS accident for road embankments

Takai, Shizuka ; Sawaguchi, Takuma ; Takeda, Seiji 

After the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station accident, large quantities of radiocesium-contaminated soil generated from decontamination activities have been stored in the Fukushima Prefecture. To reduce the disposal volume, the Ministry of the Environment of Japan has presented a policy to recycle low-radioactive decontamination soil limited to civil engineering structures. However, there has been no practical instance or safety assessment of decontamination soil recycling. In this study, the way of ensuring the safety for decontamination soil recycling for road embankments was discussed. First, based on Japanese construction standards, additional doses to workers and the public in construction and service scenarios were evaluated. From the result, the radioactive cesium concentration level of recycled materials, where all additional doses meet the radiation criterion of 1 mSv y, was derived to be 6,000 Bq kg. To confine additional doses to the public in a service scenario below 0.01 mSv y, soil slope protection of 40 cm or more was needed. Finally, additional doses in a disaster scenario were confirmed to be below 1 mSv y.