"Invisible" radioactive cesium atoms revealed; Pollucite inclusion in cesium-rich microparticles (CsMPs) from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Miyazaki, Kanako*; Takehara, Masato*; Minomo, Kenta*; Horie, Kenji*; Takehara, Mami*; Yamasaki, Shinya*; Saito, Takumi*; Onuki, Toshihiko*; Takano, Masahide; Shiotsu, Hiroyuki; et al.

Journal of Hazardous Materials, 470(15), p.134104_1 - 134104_11, 2024/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134104

Volatilization of BC control rods in Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors during meltdown; B-Li isotopic signatures in cesium-rich microparticles

Fueda, Kazuki*; Takami, Ryu*; Minomo, Kenta*; Morooka, Kazuya*; Horie, Kenji*; Takehara, Mami*; Yamasaki, Shinya*; Saito, Takumi*; Shiotsu, Hiroyuki; Onuki, Toshihiko*; et al.

Journal of Hazardous Materials, 428, p.128214_1 - 128214_10, 2022/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128214

Role of filamentous fungi in migration of radioactive cesium in the Fukushima forest soil environment

Onuki, Toshihiko; Sakamoto, Fuminori; Kozai, Naofumi; Namba, Kenji*; Neda, Hitoshi*; Sasaki, Yoshito; Niizato, Tadafumi; Watanabe, Naoko*; Kozaki, Tamotsu*

Environmental Science; Processes & Impacts, 21(7), p.1164 - 1173, 2019/07

https://doi.org/10.1039/C9EM00046A

The fate of radioactive Cs deposited after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident and its associated radiological impacts are largely dependent on its mobility from surface soils to forest ecosystems. We measured the accumulation of radioactive Cs in the fruit bodies of wild fungi in the forest at Iidate, Fukushima, Japan. The transfer factors (TFs) of radioactive Cs from soil to the fruit bodies of wild fungi were between 10 to 10, a range similar to those reported for the fruit bodies collected in Europe after the Chernobyl accident and in parts of Japan contaminated by nuclear bomb test fallout. Comparison of the TFs of the wild mushroom and that of the fungal hyphae of 704 stock strains grown on agar medium containing nutrients and radioactive Cs showed that the TFs of wild mushroom were lower. TF was less than 0.1 after addition of the minerals zeolite, vermiculite, phlogopite, smectite, or illite of 1% weight to the agar medium. These results indicate that the presence of minerals decrease Cs uptake by fungi grown in the agar medium.

Sorption behavior of Np(V) on microbe pure culture and consortia

Onuki, Toshihiko; Kozai, Naofumi; Sakamoto, Fuminori; Utsunomiya, Satoshi*; Kato, Kenji*

Chemistry Letters, 46(5), p.771 - 774, 2017/05

https://doi.org/10.1246/cl.170068

The sorption behavior of Np(V) by the microbe consortia and by a single pure culture of Fe reducing bacterium was studied at pH between 3 and 7 in resting cell conditions. The sorption of Np(V) by the Fe reducing bacterium obtained in the inert condition and by the consortia in aerated condition were higher than by the Fe reducing bacterium in aerobic condition at pH below 5, strongly suggesting presence of other mechanism than the adsorption on microbial cell surface, i.e. reduction to Np(IV).

Root endophytic bacteria of a Cs and Mn accumulator plant, , increase Cs and Mn desorption in the soil

Yamaji, Keiko*; Nagata, Satoshi*; Haruma, Toshikatsu*; Onuki, Toshihiko; Kozaki, Tamotsu*; Watanabe, Naoko*; Namba, Kenji*

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 153, p.112 - 119, 2016/03

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2015.12.015

Of the 463 strains that we isolated, 107 (23.1%) produced the siderophores. We found Cs and Mn desorption concomitant with Al and Fe desorption. These results suggest that root endophytes of Cs accumulator plant produce siderophores, resulting in the desorption of Cs from the contaminated soil collected at Fukushima, Japan.

Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory Project, Annual report for fiscal year 2014

Hama, Katsuhiro; Mikake, Shinichiro; Ishibashi, Masayuki; Sasao, Eiji; Kuwabara, Kazumichi; Ueno, Tetsuro; Onuki, Kenji*; Beppu, Shinji; Onoe, Hironori; Takeuchi, Ryuji; et al.

JAEA-Review 2015-024, 122 Pages, 2015/11

JAEA-Review-2015-024.pdf:80.64MB

Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) at Tono Geoscience Center (TGC) is pursuing a geoscientific research and development project namely the Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory (MIU) Project in crystalline rock environment in order to construct scientific and technical basis for geological disposal of High-level Radioactive Waste (HLW). The MIU Project has three overlapping phases: Surface-based Investigation phase (Phase I), Construction phase (Phase II), and Operation phase (Phase III). The MIU Project has been ongoing the Phase III, as the Phase II was concluded for a moment with the completion of the excavation of horizontal tunnels at GL-500m level in February 2014. This report presents the results of the investigations, construction and collaboration studies in fiscal year 2014.

Radioactive Cs in the severely contaminated soils near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Kaneko, Makoto*; Iwata, Hajime; Shiotsu, Hiroyuki; Masaki, Shota*; Kawamoto, Yuji*; Yamasaki, Shinya*; Nakamatsu, Yuki*; Imoto, Jumpei*; Furuki, Genki*; Ochiai, Asumi*; et al.

Frontiers in Energy Research (Internet), 3, p.37_1 - 37_10, 2015/09

https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg.2015.00037

The mobility of the aggregates of submicron-sized sheet aluminosilicate in the surface environment is a key factor controlling the current Cs migration in Fukushima.

Groundwater recovery experiment in Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory; Numerical simulation of H-M coupled behavior of rock and backfill materials to evaluate the influence on the surrounding rock

Takayama, Yusuke; Sato, Toshinori; Onoe, Hironori; Iwatsuki, Teruki; Saegusa, Hiromitsu; Onuki, Kenji

Dai-43-Kai Gamban Rikigaku Ni Kansuru Shimpojiumu Koenshu (CD-ROM), p.313 - 318, 2015/01

In the Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory, groundwater recovery experiment is being conducted to construct the method to understand the transition of geological environment due to groundwater recovery at the -500m access and research gallery-north. As a part of this experiment, backfill test is planned using drilling pits filled with artificial materials (clay and concrete) to evaluate the influence on the surrounding rock mass due to the interaction of rock and artificial materials. In this study, numerical simulation of the backfill test has been carried out to predict the qualitative hydro-mechanical behavior.

Probing strongly correlated 4-orbital symmetry of the ground state in Yb compounds by linear dichroism in core-level photoemission

Mori, Takeo*; Kitayama, Satoshi*; Kanai-Nakata, Yuina*; Naimen, Sho*; Fujiwara, Hidenori*; Higashiya, Atsushi*; Tamasaku, Kenji*; Tanaka, Arata*; Terashima, Kensei*; Imada, Shin*; et al.

Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 83(12), p.123702_1 - 123702_5, 2014/12

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSJ.83.123702

We show that the strongly correlated 4-orbital symmetry of the ground state is revealed by linear dichroism in core-level photoemission spectra, as we have discovered for YbRhSi and YbCuSi. Theoretical analysis shows us that the linear dichroism reflects the anisotropic charge distributions resulting from a crystalline electric field. We have successfully determined the ground-state 4 symmetry for both compounds from the polarization-dependent angle resolved core-level spectra at a temperature well below the first excitation energy. The excited-state symmetry is also probed by temperature dependence of the linear dichroism where the high measurement temperatures are on the order of the crystal-field-splitting energies.

Results of pilot borehole investigation in -500m access/research gallery-south (12MI32 borehole)

Kawamoto, Koji; Kuroiwa, Hiroshi; Yamada, Nobuto; Onuki, Kenji; Omori, Kazuaki; Takeuchi, Ryuji; Ogata, Nobuhisa; Omori, Masaki; Watanabe, Kazuhiko

JAEA-Technology 2014-011, 92 Pages, 2014/07

JAEA-Technology-2014-011.pdf:24.65MB
JAEA-Technology-2014-011-appendix(DVD).zip:331.54MB

This document summarizes the data of pilot boreholes (12MI32) in the -500m Access/Research Gallery-South. The geological, hydraulic and geochemical data were obtained. In addition, groundwater monitoring system was installed to observe the groundwater pressure in initial condition and change during the excavation of gallery. The results of investigation, biotite granite with medium to coarse-grained equigranular texture are characterized. Rock mass classification is B from CM class. Minor fault with fault breccia are observed around 48.90mabh. However, S200_13 fault and IF_SB3_13_3 fault (that were presumed by an original model) were not observed. Density of fracture is large in the section of 40.00 to 80.00mabh. Water inflow was a maximum of 600 L/min in 78.83mabh. Permeability ranges from 2.0E-9 to 1.5E-08m/sec at the zone with low inflow, from 1.1E-05 to 1.6E-05m/sec at the zone with high inflow, respectively. Groundwater chemistry is rich in Na and Cl ion.