A Compilation of the 10-year studies on I in the terrestrial environment after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

Honda, Maki   

Iodine 129 (I) is a radionuclide that decays to Xe with a half-life of 15.7 million years. The analysis of I in the environment has played an important role not only in the fields of planetary science and earth science, but also in the nuclear field in recent years. Particularly, in the case of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in March, 2011, the scientists estimated the distribution and soil deposition of I over a wide area, and contributed to the assessment of internal exposure doses in the early stage of the accident. This is one of the most significant achievements in recent I-related studies. Future studies are expected to be conducted to elucidate the transport mechanism of I from land to river and sea, and to investigate the possible accumulation of I in aquatic organisms. The mobility of I in the soil studied by the author during the 10-years since the accident has been mainly reviewed in this manuscript.