Simulation of predicted effects of decontamination and cultivation activities on reduction of air dose rates using Monte Carlo method

Kim, M.; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Malins, A.*; Abe, Tomohisa; Nakama, Shigeo; Machida, Masahiko; Saito, Kimiaki

Kankyo Hoshano Josen Gakkai-Shi, 12(2), p.39 - 53, 2024/04

More than ten years have passed since the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. But with the progress of decontamination, the evacuation order has been lifted and the return of residents is still ongoing. Under these circumstances, in order to quantitatively evaluate the effect of decontamination activities and cultivation on air dose rate reduction, a detailed environmental model was constructed using 3D-ADRES for a real area located in the Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture. Monte Carlo simulations were performed using the model to calculate realistic distributions of radioactive Cs based on measurement results and air dose rates reflecting changes over time. As a result, the distribution of air dose rates at 100 cm above ground level in the target area according to decontamination and cultivation activities was calculated. The calculated air dose rates reproduced the measured values well, and were confirmed to be appropriate as a method for evaluating the effects of decontamination and cultivation activities. This method is expected to serve as a reference for further decontamination management measures to reduce the air dose rate in the difficult-to-return zone, where entry is still restricted.

Survey of air dose rate distribution inside and outside of wooden houses in Fukushima Prefecture; Actual condition of dose reduction factor

Kim, M.; Malins, A.*; Machida, Masahiko; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Saito, Kimiaki; Yoshida, Hiroko*

Nihon Genshiryoku Gakkai Wabun Rombunshi (Internet), 22(4), p.156 - 169, 2023/11

https://doi.org/10.3327/taesj.J23.001

Dose reduction factor of a Japanese house is important information in the external exposure estimation of returning residents. In 2019, a total of 19 wooden houses were surveyed in Iitate Village and Namie Town using a gamma plotter that can continuously measure the air dose rate. In addition, the characteristics of the reduction factor were investigated from the measured air dose rate. In the vicinity of houses, uncontaminated areas exist underneath houses and, the ratio of paved surfaces such as asphalt roads is relatively high; furthermore, the pavement has a tendency for the radiation source to decay quickly. Therefore, the air dose rate near the house showed a relatively low value in common at all sites. Air dose rates above unpaved surfaces showed higher values and larger variations than those above paved surfaces within a radius of 50 m form the center of a house. The reduction factor was widely distributed even for one house, if the ratio of every air dose rate observed inside and outside the house is considered. It is suggested that a realistic reduction factor may not be obtained when the reduction factor is obtained based on the measured values at a small number of points that do not have the representativeness of the radiation field to be measured.

Result of measurement of the ambient dose equivalent rates by car-borne surveys using KURAMA-II from 2012 until 2019

Ando, Masaki; Saito, Kimiaki

JAEA-Technology 2021-032, 66 Pages, 2022/03

JAEA-Technology-2021-032.pdf:3.84MB

Since the occurrence of the accident at the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has been conducting a series of car-borne survey over a wide area in the eastern part of Japan using the monitoring system KURAMAII. In this report, outline of the car-borne surveys are summarized and the following characteristics of the temporal changes in each prefecture and region were investigated using the measured data obtained from 2012 to 2019; 1) Average and maximum values for each prefecture for the six years from 2014 to 2019, 2) Average values for each prefecture from 2012 to 2019, 3) Average values for each evacuation order area category, regional category, and northern Soso-area municipality in Fukushima Prefecture from 2012 to 2019, and 4) Average and maximum values for each municipality in each prefecture for four times (at almost two-year intervals) of the measurement results from 2012 to 2018.

Current status of the environmental monitoring database on the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Seki, Akiyuki; Saito, Kimiaki; Takemiya, Hiroshi

Journal of Radiological Protection, 41(3), p.S89 - S98, 2021/09

https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6498/abfbc1

An enormous amount of environmental monitoring data has been acquired by various organizations for evaluation and implementation of countermeasure to mitigate the effects of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. We established procedures to collect these data, convert them into a unified format, classify them according to categories, and make the data accessible on a web-based database system. The database system enabled us to spatially and temporally compare large volumes of monitoring data. By using the database functions, characteristics of some representative data in the database were clarified.

Correction to Transport and redistribution of radiocesium in Fukushima fallout through rivers

Taniguchi, Keisuke*; Onda, Yuichi*; Smith, H. G.*; Blake, W.*; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Yamashiki, Yosuke*; Kuramoto, Takayuki*; Saito, Kimiaki

Environmental Science & Technology, 55(13), P. 9394, 2021/07

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c02491

no abstracts in English

Analyses of *(10) dose rates measured in environment contaminated by radioactive caesium; Correction of directional dependence of scintillation detectors

Tsuda, Shuichi; Tanigaki, Minoru*; Yoshida, Tadayoshi; Okumura, Ryo*; Saito, Kimiaki

Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 193(3-4), p.228 - 236, 2021/03

AA2020-0760.pdf:0.87MB

https://doi.org/10.1093/rpd/ncab060

Environmental dose rate monitoring has been performed with various scintillation detectors since the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. Gamma-rays from caesium isotopes deposited in soil enter radiation detectors in any direction, but directional dependence of the detectors used for dose rate measurements are not always uniform and the dose rates vary even if measurement takes place at the same place. To investigate the influence of crystal configurations on dose rate, dose rate measurements using several scintillation detectors with different crystal configurations were conducted. By measuring pulse height spectra and multiplying them with spectrum - dose conversion operators (G(E) function), dose rates were deduced and compared. It was found that the dose rates varied within approximately 25% among six detectors. To reduce the differences, the dose rate using G(E) functions determined in rotational geometry were obtained and applied instead. The revised dose rates agreed with one another within uncertainties, but this was not the case of scintillation detector with flat crystal shape, and it means this method could not compensate its strong directional dependence. These experimental results reveal that detectors with superior directional characteristics should be used for environmental dose rate measurement since the compensation of directional dependence using a G(E) function determined in rotational geometry is not always available.

Evaluation of decreasing trend in air dose rate and ecological half-life within an 80 km range from Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant, using car-borne survey data measured by KURAMA systems up to 2018

Ando, Masaki; Sasaki, Miyuki; Saito, Kimiaki

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 57(12), p.1319 - 1330, 2020/12

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2020.1789008

Air dose rates measured by car-borne surveys within 80 km range of Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant using KURAMA systems from 2011 up to 2018 were analyzed, and decreasing trends and ecological half-life were evaluated. The decreasing speed of air dose rates became 0.08 over a period of seven years, indicating a much more rapid decrease than estimated by the physical decay of radiocesium (0.3). The fast components of the ecological half-lives evaluated in entire the evacuation order area were about 2 to 3 y, and were considerably larger than those outside the evacuation order area (0.4 to 0.5 y). To model the acceleration in the decrease of air dose rates observed in evacuation order areas, we modified the bi-exponential curve formula of ecological half-life and introduced the two-group model. The fast decreasing components of the ecological half-life evaluated using the two-group model after 2013 were 0.5 to 1 y, and were much shorter than those up to 2013, at 2 to 3 y.

Dose coefficients for external exposures to environmental sources

Petoussi-Henss, N.*; Satoh, Daiki; Endo, Akira; Eckerman, K. F.*; Bolch, W. E.*; Hunt, J.*; Jansen, J. T. M.*; Kim, C. H.*; Lee, C.*; Saito, Kimiaki; et al.

Annals of the ICRP, 49(2), p.11 - 145, 2020/10

https://doi.org/10.1177/0146645320906277

The age-dependent dose coefficients of organ equivalent doses and effective doses for the member of the public are required to estimate the external dose of the public exposed to radiations from radionuclides in the environment. For this purpose, a computational method to simulate the radiation fields of environmental photon and electron sources in the air, soil, and water has been developed using a particle transport code PHITS in the JAEA, and the organ equivalent doses have been calculated using the human models of newborns, 1-year-old, 5-years-old, 10-years-old, and 15-years-old children, and adults male and female provided by the ICRP. In addition, the nuclide-specific effective dose coefficients have been derived using the skin-dose data and nuclide-decay data provided by the Hanyang University and ICRP, respectively. The data of the dose coefficients are available for dose estimations of not only the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident but radiological emergencies which radionuclides are released to the environment.

Optimizing long-term monitoring of radiation air-dose rates after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Sun, D.*; Wainwright-Murakami, Haruko*; Oroza, C. A.*; Seki, Akiyuki; Mikami, Satoshi; Takemiya, Hiroshi; Saito, Kimiaki

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 220-221, p.106281_1 - 106281_8, 2020/09

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2020.106281

We have developed a methodology for optimizing the monitoring locations of radiation air dose-rate monitoring. For the method, we use a Gaussian mixture model to identify the representative locations among multiple environmental variables, such as elevation and land-cover types. Next, we use a Gaussian process model to capture and estimate the heterogeneity of air-dose rates across the domain. Our results have shown that this approach allows us to select monitoring locations in a systematic manner such that the heterogeneity of air dose rates is captured by the minimal number of monitoring locations.

Optimizing long-term monitoring of radiation air dose rates

Wainwright, Haruko*; Oroza, C.*; Sun, D.*; Seki, Akiyuki; Mikami, Satoshi; Saito, Kimiaki

45th Annual Waste Management Conference (WM 2019); Encouraging Young Men & Women to Achieve Their Goals in Radwaste Management, Vol.7, p.4346 - 4356, 2020/01

In this work, we have developed a methodology for optimizing the sampling locations of radiation air dose-rate monitoring. Three steps are taken in order to determine sampling locations in a systematic manner: (1) prioritizing the critical locations, such as schools or regulatory requirement locations, (2) diversifying locations across the key environmental controls that are known to influence contaminant mobility and distributions, and (3) capturing the heterogeneity of radiation air dose rates across the domain. Our results have shown that increasing the number of sampling locations can better capture the heterogeneity of dose rates, although the estimation error does not decrease further after a certain number of samples. We have also found that when there are restrictions such as pre-existing monitoring locations or the ones along roads, the spatial estimation becomes poor even with the same number of monitoring locations.