Records of the riverine discharge of I in riverbank sediment after the Fukushima accident

河川敷堆積物に残された福島事故後のI流出の記録

中西 貴宏   ; 佐久間 一幸   ; 大山 卓也 ; 萩原 大樹  ; 鈴木 崇史  

Nakanishi, Takahiro; Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Oyama, Takuya; Hagiwara, Hiroki; Suzuki, Takashi

本研究は、福島事故時に沈着したI/Csの放射能比が山間部で低く平野部で高かった流域において、2013年から2015年にかけて実施した河川敷調査によりIの挙動を検討した。2015年まで堤防冠部のI/Cs比は2011年の周辺土壌と同程度であった。一方、河川敷表層堆積物のI/Cs比は低く、山間部から輸送された放射性核種が平野部に堆積したことを示した。河川敷堆積物の鉛直分布から、事故直後に河川敷に沈着したIとCsの一部は下層に残ったが、殆どは事故直後に浸食されたことが示された。事故後2015年まで一定であった河川敷堆積物のI/Cs比に基づき、Cs流出量からIの海洋流出量を求めた。その結果、調査対象流域および汚染された流域(調査河川を含む福島沿岸河川)からはそれぞれ1.810 Bqおよび1.210 BqのIが流出していた。本研究の結果から、河川からの継続的なI流出は福島沿岸の海底堆積物中のI量に殆ど寄与していないことが示された。

This study investigated the transport behavior of I by riverbank surveys conducted from 2013 to 2015 in a watershed where the I/Cs activity ratio is low in the mountainous area and high in the plain as of 2011. Until 2015, the I/Cs activity ratio of the levee crown in the studied watershed was similar to that of the surrounding area in 2011. However, the I/Cs ratios of the surface riverbank sediments were all low, indicating that radionuclides transported from the mountainous area were deposited on the riverbank in the plain. The vertical distribution of the I/Cs ratio in the riverbank sediments indicated that some I and Cs deposited during the accident remained in the lower layers, but most were eroded immediately after the accident. Based on the I/Cs ratios of sediments deposited on the riverbank, which remained constant until 2015 after the accident, the amount of I discharged to the ocean was determined from the previously evaluated Cs discharge. It was calculated that 1.810 Bq and 1.210 Bq of I were discharged with sediment from the studied watershed and the contaminated river watersheds (Abukuma River and Fukushima coastal rivers, including the study river), respectively. The results of this study indicate that the continuous I discharge from the river contribute little to their amount in the seafloor sediments along the Fukushima coast.