Testing mosses exposed in bags as biointerceptors of airborne radiocaesium after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station accident

Di Palma, A.; Adamo, P.*; Dohi, Terumi; Fujiwara, Kenso; Hagiwara, Hiroki; Kitamura, Akihiro; Sakoda, Akihiro; Sato, Kazuhiko; Iijima, Kazuki

Chemosphere, 308, Part 1, p.136179_1 - 136179_13, 2022/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136179

The present study shows the use of mosses transplanted in bags, called as moss bags, as biosensors of airborne radioactive dusts in the environment of the evacuated zone of Fukushima. A standardized protocol was applied and three moss species were used. Background sites of Okayama Prefecture were used for comparison. In the Fukushima area, the moss bags were able to accumulate radiocaesium in all exposure sites and periods, with Sphagnum palustre moss acting as the most performant moss. The radiocaesium activity concentrations dectected in mosses were in strong agreement with the Cs deposition levels and decontamination status of each exposure site. The accumulation of soil-derived radiocaesium by moss bags was supported by autoradiography and electron microscopy analyses. The linear dependency of Cs accumulation with the exposure time allowed a radiocaesium quantitative assessment.

Watershed-geochemical model to simulate dissolved and particulate Cs discharge from a forested catchment

Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Hayashi, Seiji*; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Kurikami, Hiroshi; Malins, A.; Funaki, Hironori; Tsuji, Hideki*; Kobayashi, Takamaru*; Kitamura, Akihiro; Iijima, Kazuki

Water Resources Research, 58(8), p.e2021WR031181_1 - e2021WR031181_16, 2022/08

https://doi.org/10.1029/2021WR031181

Accumulation mechanisms of radiocaesium within lichen thallus tissues determined by means of microscale localisation observation

Dohi, Terumi; Iijima, Kazuki; Machida, Masahiko; Suno, Hiroya*; Omura, Yoshihito*; Fujiwara, Kenso; Kimura, Shigeru*; Kanno, Futoshi*

PLOS ONE (Internet), 17(7), p.e0271035_1 - e0271035_21, 2022/07

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0271035

Dynamics of Cs in water and phyto- and zooplankton in a reservoir affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Tsuji, Hideki*; Nakagawa, Megumi*; Iijima, Kazuki; Funaki, Hironori; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Hayashi, Seiji*

Global Environmental Research (Internet), 24(2), p.115 - 127, 2021/06

Lake water, phytoplankton and zooplankton were sampled by a total of 12 quarterly surveys from August 2014 to May 2017 at a dam lake in the Fukushima nuclear disaster area, and variations of dissolved form of Cs and planktonic Cs were observed. Seasonal variations in dissolved Cs concentration with high in summer and low in winter were observed in the upstream, midstream and downstream areas of the lake, but no seasonal or site specific differences in planktonic Cs concentrations and dominant species were found. The amount of planktonic form of Cs in the water was less than 1.4% of the total Cs in the lake water, therefore the effect of plankton on the dynamics of Cs in the lake was minimal.

Status of study of long-term assessment of transport of radioactive contaminants in the environment of Fukushima (FY2018) (Translated document)

Nagao, Fumiya; Niizato, Tadafumi; Sasaki, Yoshito; Ito, Satomi; Watanabe, Takayoshi; Dohi, Terumi; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Hagiwara, Hiroki; Funaki, Hironori; et al.

JAEA-Research 2020-007, 249 Pages, 2020/10

JAEA-Research-2020-007.pdf:15.83MB

The accident of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. occurred due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, Sanriku offshore earthquake, of 9.0 magnitude and the accompanying tsunami. As a result, large amount of radioactive materials was released into the environment. Under these circumstances, Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has been conducting "Long-term Assessment of Transport of Radioactive Contaminants in the Environment of Fukushima" concerning radioactive materials released in environment, especially migration behavior of radioactive cesium since November 2012. This report is a summary of the research results that have been obtained in environmental dynamics research conducted by JAEA in Fukushima Prefecture.

Key factors controlling radiocesium sorption and fixation in river sediments around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, 1; Insights from sediment properties and radiocesium distributions

Tachi, Yukio; Sato, Tomofumi*; Akagi, Yosuke*; Kawamura, Makoto*; Nakane, Hideji*; Terashima, Motoki; Fujiwara, Kenso; Iijima, Kazuki

Science of the Total Environment, 724, p.138098_1 - 138098_11, 2020/07

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138098

To understand and predict radiocesium transport behaviors in the environment, highly contaminated sediments from Ukedo and Odaka rivers around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant were investigated systematically focusing on key factors controlling radiocesium sorption and fixation, including particle size, clay mineralogy and organic matter.

Mineral composition characteristics of radiocesium sorbed and transported sediments within the Tomioka river basin in Fukushima Prefecture

Hagiwara, Hiroki; Konishi, Hiromi*; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Fujiwara, Kenso; Iijima, Kazuki; Kitamura, Akihiro

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 211, p.106042_1 - 106042_10, 2020/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.106042

Temporal decrease in air dose rate in the sub-urban area affected by the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident during four years after decontamination works

Nakama, Shigeo; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Fujiwara, Kenso; Ishikawa, Hiroyasu; Iijima, Kazuki

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 208-209, p.106013_1 - 106013_8, 2019/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.106013

Trends of air dose rate decrease after decontamination works and factors which affect them constitute essential information for radiation protection, such as prediction of external exposure to the public and implementation of measures to reduce such exposure. This study investigated the decrease of air dose rate (ambient dose rate at 1 m above the ground) at 163 points across sub-urban areas in the evacuation zone around the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant over the period of four years following the decontamination works carried out in November 2012. The air dose rate on the asphalt pavement decreased faster than on soil surfaces. In addition, air dose rates near the forest decreased at a slower pace than in open fields. These results suggest that the air dose rate in urbanized areas can decrease faster than in other types of land, even after decontamination. Based on comparisons with decrease rates obtained in other studies, the air dose rate tends to decrease faster outside the evacuation zone than inside it. The decrease in air dose rate after decontamination was slower than before decontamination. The contribution of the weathering effect and human activity was estimated to be about 80% and 20% of the ecological decrease rate, respectively.

Electron microscopic analysis of radiocaesium-bearing microparticles in lichens collected within 3 km of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant

Dohi, Terumi; Tagomori, Hisaya; Omura, Yoshihito*; Fujiwara, Kenso; Kanaizuka, Seiichi*; Iijima, Kazuki

Environmental Radiochemical Analysis VI, p.58 - 70, 2019/09

https://doi.org/10.1039/9781788017732-00058

In this study we established a separation method for radiocaesium-bearing microparticles (CsMPs) from lichens using electron microscopic analysis. Lichens were first digested within hydrogen peroxide and then an automatic particle analyser system based on FE-EPMA was used for detecting CsMPs within lots of mineral-like and metallic particles quickly. The elemental composition and radiocaesium activities of the separated CsMPs were measured, and the results show that the digestion treatment did not influence the CsMPs characteristics. An inhomogeneous elemental distribution was found in some CsMPs by two-dimensional elemental analysis using FE-EMPA. Our methods for separation of CsMPs and analysing their elemental composition are expected to be useful for grasping the chemical composition trends of CsMPs statistically.

Status of study of long-term assessment of transport of radioactive contaminants in the environment of Fukushima (FY2018)

Nagao, Fumiya; Niizato, Tadafumi; Sasaki, Yoshito; Ito, Satomi; Watanabe, Takayoshi; Dohi, Terumi; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Hagiwara, Hiroki; Funaki, Hironori; et al.

JAEA-Research 2019-002, 235 Pages, 2019/08

JAEA-Research-2019-002.pdf:21.04MB

The accident of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (hereinafter referred to 1F), Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. occurred due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, Sanriku offshore earthquake, of 9.0 magnitude and the accompanying tsunami. As a result, large amount of radioactive materials was released into the environment. Under these circumstances, JAEA has been conducting Long-term Environmental Dynamics Research concerning radioactive materials released in environment, especially migration behavior of radioactive cesium since November 2012. This report is a summary of the research results that have been obtained in environmental dynamics research conducted by JAEA in Fukushima Prefecture.