Behavior of radiocesium (Cs) on the coastal seafloor near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant inferred from radiocesium distributions in long cores

Nakanishi, Takahiro; Tsuruta, Tadahiko; Misono, Toshiharu; Shiribiki, Takehiko; Urabe, Yoshimi*; Sanada, Yukihisa

Journal of Coastal Research, 116(SI), p.161 - 165, 2024/01

https://doi.org/10.2112/JCR-SI116-033.1

Continuous data of Cs-137 concentration in surface seabed sediment around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) from 2012 to 2022 was compiled and its temporal change was fitted by exponential function. In general, Cs-137 concentrations were gradually declining with time. However, at some monitoring points in shallow region, long half-lives and/or large deviations of Cs-137 concentrations were noticed. To gain insight into cesium dynamics in shallow seafloor, long sediment cores were collected at shallow region near the FDNPP, and the vertical profiles of Cs-137 concentration and particle size distribution were determined. At the beach, Cs-137 concentration and particle size distribution were very homogenized from several tens of cm to more than 1 m deep, probably due to strong vertical mixing by wind waves and tides. Therefore, beach sediments have significant Cs-137 reserves in deeper layers at present. It was suggested that the Cs-137 supply from deep layers as well as the land area might suppress the decline of surface Cs-137 concentration in this area. At sampling points located at the bases of cliffs and depressions at the offshore zone, the vertical distributions of Cs-137 concentration were highly heterogeneous, showing the particle size dependency. Moreover, Cs-137 profiles obtained at the same point for several years were quite different. Therefore, it might cause the large fluctuation of Cs-137 concentration at surface sediment over time.

Thirty-year prediction of Cs supply from rivers to coastal waters off Fukushima considering human activities

Ikenoue, Tsubasa; Shimadera, Hikari*; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Kondo, Akira*

Water (Internet), 15(15), p.2734_1 - 2734_18, 2023/08

https://doi.org/10.3390/w15152734

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident caused an accumulation of Cs in coastal sediment. The Cs supply from rivers to the ocean can affect the long-term fate of Cs in coastal sediment. Since the Fukushima coastal river basins include large decontaminated and evacuation order areas, considering the decontamination work and resumption of agriculture is important for predicting the Cs supply. We conducted a 30-year prediction of the Cs supply from the Fukushima coastal rivers to the ocean using a distributed radiocesium prediction model, considering the effects of human activities. In river basins with decontaminated and evacuation order areas, human activities reduced the total Cs outflow from agricultural lands, urban lands, and forest areas to the rivers and the Cs supply to the ocean by 5.0% and 6.0%, respectively. These results indicated that human activities slightly impacted the Cs outflow and supply. The Cs supply from rivers impacted by the accident to the coastal sediment was estimated to correspond to 11-36% of the total Cs in the coastal sediment in the early phase of the accident. Therefore, the Cs supply from rivers to the ocean is important for the long-term behavior of Cs in coastal sediment.

Simulation study on H behavior in the Fukushima coastal region; Comparison of influences of discharges from the Fukushima Daiichi and rivers

Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Yamada, Susumu; Machida, Masahiko; Kurikami, Hiroshi; Misono, Toshiharu; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Iijima, Kazuki

Marine Pollution Bulletin, 192, p.115054_1 - 115054_10, 2023/07

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115054

Thirty-year simulation of environmental fate of Cs in the Abukuma River basin considering the characteristics of Cs behavior in land uses

Ikenoue, Tsubasa; Shimadera, Hikari*; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Kondo, Akira*

Science of the Total Environment, 876, p.162846_1 - 162846_12, 2023/06

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162846

We conducted 30 years simulation of environmental fate of Cs in the Abukuma River basin considering the characteristics of the Cs behavior in land uses. Overall, in the Abukuma River basin, the Cs transported into the ocean for 30 years was estimated to correspond to 4.6% of the initial deposition in the basin, and the effective half-life of Cs deposited in the basin was estimated to be 3.7 years shorter (by 11.6%) than its physical half-life. These results suggested that Cs deposited from the accident could still remain for decades. Based on the analysis of the Cs behavior in land use, in 2011, the contribution of Cs export to the ocean from urban lands was estimated to correspond to 70% of the total Cs export. Meanwhile, from 2012 to 2040, the contribution of Cs export from agricultural lands was estimated to correspond to 75% of the total Cs export. The reduction ratios excluding radioactive decay of Cs remained in areas with and without human activities for 30 years after the accident, defined as the ratios of the total outflow to the initial deposition, were estimated to be 11.5%-17.7% and 0.4%-1.4%, respectively. These results suggested that human activities enhance the reduction of Cs remaining in land in the past and future.

Effect of radioactive cesium-rich microparticles on radioactive cesium concentration and distribution coefficient in rivers flowing through the watersheds with different contaminated condition in Fukushima

Tatsuno, Takahiro*; Waki, Hiromichi*; Kakuma, Minato*; Nihei, Naoto*; Takase, Tsugiko*; Wada, Toshihiro*; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Ote, Nobuhito*

Journal of Environmental Management, 329, p.116983_1 - 116983_13, 2023/03

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116983

Dynamics of radiocesium in coastal areas following river flood

Misono, Toshiharu; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Shiribiki, Takehiko; Nagao, Seiya*; Ochiai, Shinya*; Sanada, Yukihisa; Tsuruta, Tadahiko

Gekkan Kaiyo, 54(11), p.558 - 561, 2022/11

Sediment traps were set up around estuaries and in coastal areas to collect sinking particles at the time of river discharge. Around the estuary, changes in radiocesium concentration and mass flux of sinking particles linked to the discharge of radiocesium from the river were observed.

Cesium-rich microparticles runoff during rainfall; A Case study in the Takase River

Tatsuno, Takahiro*; Waki, Hiromichi*; Kakuma, Minato*; Nihei, Naoto*; Wada, Toshihiro*; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Ote, Nobuhito*

Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 198(13-15), p.1052 - 1057, 2022/09

https://doi.org/10.1093/rpd/ncac052

Evaluation of thermal diffusivity of uniaxial CFRP sheet by offset periodic laser heating method

Nagata, Sho*; Miyake, Shugo*; Igarashi, Takahiro; Ota, Hiromichi*; Nishi, Tsuyoshi*

Jikken Rikigaku, 22(2), p.105 - 111, 2022/06

Thermal easy axis and thermal diffusivity of uniaxial carbon fiber-reinforced plastic sheets were determined by a offset periodic laser heating method, and investigated relationship between the thermal easy axis and fiber orientation with different thickness of CFRP sheet specimen, experimentally. It was clarified that the orientation of the thermal easy axis spreads in the in-plane direction with the sheet thickness deceases. Then, thermal diffusivity of CFRP specimens in the out-of-plane and in-plane direction were measured by two method: a variable-frequency method and a variable-displacement method, respectively. In the results of the out-of-plane directions, thermal diffusivity almost consistent with the carbon fiber direction were obtained. In contrast, the in-plane directions of those were exhibited unexpected value. Moreover, thermal diffusivity determination by offset periodic heating method was carried out. Finally, it is found that the thermal diffusivity considering the thermal easy axis with fiber angle was different characteristics from the in-plane direction measurement.

Remobilisation of radiocaesium from bottom sediments to water column in reservoirs in Fukushima, Japan

Funaki, Hironori; Tsuji, Hideki*; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Hayashi, Seiji*

Science of the Total Environment, 812, p.152534_1 - 152534_10, 2022/03

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152534

Reservoir sediments generally act as a sink for radionuclides derived from nuclear accidents, but under anaerobic conditions, several radionuclides remobilise in bioavailable form from sediment to water columns, which may contribute to a long-term contamination in aquatic products. This study systematically investigated the Cs activities between sediment and pore water, which is a direct evidence of the remobilisation of bioavailable Cs from sediments, in two highly contaminated reservoirs affected by the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. Our results strongly indicate a competitive ion exchange process between Cs and NH via a highly selective interaction with the frayed edges sites of phyllosilicate minerals to be the major reason for the variability of the Kd values between sediment and pore water, even in the Fukushima case.

Visualization of radiocesium distribution in surface layer of seafloor around Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Sanada, Yukihisa; Urabe, Yoshimi*; Misono, Toshiharu; Shiribiki, Takehiko; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Watanabe, Yusuke; Tsuruta, Tadahiko

Scientific Reports (Internet), 11(1), p.23175_1 - 23175_13, 2021/11

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02646-9

After the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPP) on March 15, 2011, a large amount of volatile radionuclides were released into the atmosphere and hydrosphere. Monitoring of radioactive cesium in sediments is important for assessing the behavior and effects of radioactive cesium in the environment. In this study, the distribution of radioactive cesium in the superficial deposits around FDNPP was visualized as a radioactive cesium map using regular survey data from a towed gamma-ray detection system.