Background radiation monitoring via manned helicopter for application of technique of nuclear emergency response in the fiscal year 2021 (Contract research)

Futemma, Akira; Sanada, Yukihisa; Sasaki, Miyuki; Kawasaki, Yoshiharu*; Iwai, Takeyuki*; Hiraga, Shogo*; Haginoya, Masashi*; Matsunaga, Yuki*; Akutsu, Yuichiro*; Hokama, Tomonori; et al.

JAEA-Technology 2022-028, 127 Pages, 2023/02

JAEA-Technology-2022-028.pdf:15.21MB

A large amount of radioactive material was released by the nuclear disaster of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), Tokyo Electric Power Company, caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the following tsunami on March 11, 2011. After the nuclear disaster, airborne radiation monitoring via manned helicopter has been utilized to grasp rapidly and widely the distribution of the radioactive materials surrounding FDNPS. We prepare the data of background radiation dose, geomorphic characteristics and the controlled airspace surrounding nuclear facilities of the whole country in order to make effective use of the monitoring technique as a way of emergency radiation monitoring and supply the results during an accident of a facility. This report has summarized the knowledge noted above achieved by the aerial radiation monitoring around Ohi and Takahama nuclear power stations. In addition, the examination's progress aimed at introducing airborne radiation monitoring via an unmanned plane during a nuclear disaster and the technical issues are summarized in this report.

Survey on the radioactive substance in the coastal areas near Fukushima Prefecture in FY2021

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

JAEA-Research 2022-010, 134 Pages, 2023/02

JAEA-Research-2022-010.pdf:8.45MB

An accident occurred at the TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F) in 2011 and a large amount of radioactive materials were deposited around the 1F. Japan Atomic Energy Agency has continued to conduct research on the dynamics of radioactive materials after the accident. This report summarizes the results of the survey conducted in FY 2021 on the status of marine monitoring survey on radioactive substances. Furthermore, a seabed topography and sediments distribution survey was conducted in the coastal area off the Mano River from the Ohta River to understand the topography and sediment distribution. Furthermore, in order to evaluate the inflow of radioactive Cs from the river, the horizontal distribution of the radioactive Cs concentration on the surface sediment in front of the rivers was measured. As basic information on the effects of radioactive materials on marine products, the distribution status of fish was investigated. In addition, a demonstration test of water sampling and sediment sampling was conducted using an unmanned observation vessel. From these results, we estimated the distribution and its dynamics of radioactive Cs in the sediments in the front area on the 1F.

External exposure assessment in the Fukushima accident area for governmental policy planning in Japan, 2; Matters to be attended for assessments of external exposure

Yoshimura, Kazuya; Sanada, Yukihisa; Sato, Rina; Nakayama, Mariko*; Tsubokura, Masaharu*

Journal of Radiation Research (Internet), 7 Pages, 2023/00

https://doi.org/10.1093/jrr/rrac088

After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, individual exposure doses to residents have been assessed by many municipalities, governments and research institutes. Various methods including measurements with personal dosimeters and simulations have been used for this evaluation depending on purposes, but the information of assessments and methods has not been systematically organized. A comprehensive review of the knowledge and experiences of individual exposure doses assessments accumulated so far and understanding the characteristics of the assessment methods will be very useful for radiation protection and risk communication, following to governmental policy planning. We reviewed the efforts made by the Japanese government and research institutes to assess radiation doses to residents after the FDNPS accident in Part1. On the other hand, each method of assessing individual exposure doses includes uncertainties and points to be considered for the appropriate assessment. These knowledge and experiences are important for the assessment implementation and applying the assessment results to the governmental policy planning, and are summarized in Part2 of this article.

Estimation of the effect of GNSS positioning errors on the dose rate calculation concerning aerial radiation monitoring

Mori, Airi; Seguchi, Eisaku*; Futemma, Akira; Iwai, Takeyuki*; Sanada, Yukihisa

Journal of Instrumentation (Internet), 17(10), p.P10015_1 - P10015_11, 2022/10

https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/17/10/P10015

Cloudwater deposition process of radionuclides based on water droplets retrieved from pollen sensor data

Kaneyasu, Naoki*; Kutsuna, Shuzo*; Iida, Kenjiro*; Sanada, Yukihisa; Tajiri, Takuya*

Environmental Science & Technology, 56(17), p.12036 - 12044, 2022/09

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c02051

Radionuclides released during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident caused altitude-dependent surface contamination in the mountainous areas of Japan. To explore the possible cloudwater deposition that formed a distinctive contamination profile, data from pollen sensors deployed nationwide were analyzed. Utilizing the polarization of scattered light, Cedar pollen and water droplets were distinguished. On March 15, when surface contamination was simulated in previous studies, dense cloud with high droplet number density were observed outside the Cs surface deposition areas, indicating that the sensor sites were immersed amid cloud layers. In contrast, cloud droplets with moderate number density were measured at altitudes of approximately 570-840 m, which overlapped with the surface contamination areas. Considering the existing knowledge on vertical gradients of cloudwater composition, these suggest that contaminated cloud droplets were localized near the cloud base where a moderate number density of cloud droplets was measured. A formation process was proposed for the observed vertical distribution, that is, surface contamination occurred intensively at the contact line between the cloud base and mountain slopes via cloudwater deposition, and the descending cloud base formed the contamination zone. This study sheds light on the deposition processes of radionuclides which have not previously been clarified.

Migration processes of radioactive cesium in the Fukushima nearshore area; Impacts of riverine input and resuspension

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

Marine Pollution Bulletin, 178, p.113597_1 - 113597_9, 2022/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113597

It is essential to evaluate secondary migration caused by riverine input and resuspension from seabed sediments to estimate the future distribution of radioactive cesium (Cs) in the coastal area off Fukushima Prefecture. In particular, the inflow from rivers cannot be ignored because most of the Cs inflow from rivers is deposited on the coast without elute into seawater. Two mooring systems were installed near the Ukedo River's mouth (Fukushima Prefecture) from February 2017 to February 2018. The first contained a sediment trap system, collecting sinking particles during the period. The second comprised a turbidity sensor and a current sensor. The contribution of resuspension and inflow from the river to the mass flux was quantitatively evaluated using multiple regression equations. The results showed that resuspension caused 79%-83% of secondary Cs migration in nearshore areas, whereas the influence of riverine Cs input on the sediment was only 7% per year.

Radiation monitoring using manned helicopter around the Nuclear Power Station in the fiscal year 2020 (Contract research)

Futemma, Akira; Sanada, Yukihisa; Ishizaki, Azusa; Kawasaki, Yoshiharu*; Iwai, Takeyuki*; Hiraga, Shogo*; Sato, Kazuhiko*; Haginoya, Masashi*; Matsunaga, Yuki*; Kikuchi, Hikaru*; et al.

JAEA-Technology 2021-029, 132 Pages, 2022/02

JAEA-Technology-2021-029.pdf:24.58MB

By the nuclear disaster of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the following tsunami on March 11, 2011, a large amount of radioactive material was released from the FDNPS. After the nuclear disaster, airborne radiation monitoring using manned helicopter has been conducted around FDNPS. The results of the airborne radiation monitoring and the evaluation for temporal change of dose rate in the fiscal 2020 were summarized in this report. Analysis considering topographical effects was applied to the result of the airborne monitoring to improve the accuracy of conventional method. In addition, technique for discriminating gamma rays from the ground and those from the airborne Rn-progenies was also utilized to evaluate their effect on airborne radiation monitoring.

Characterization of radiocesium-bearing microparticles with different morphologies in soil around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Hagiwara, Hiroki; Funaki, Hironori; Shiribiki, Natsu*; Kanno, Marina*; Sanada, Yukihisa

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 331(1), p.415 - 426, 2022/01

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-021-08061-8

Airborne radiation survey after the accident

Torii, Tatsuo*; Sanada, Yukihisa

Behavior of Radionuclides in the Environment III Fukushima, p.17 - 29, 2022/00

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6799-2_3

Airborne radiation survey was conducted to evaluate the influence of radionuclides emitted by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident. Carrying out airborne radiation surveys using a manned helicopter, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has developed and established an analysis method concurrently with the development of this survey method. In particular, because the background radiation level differs greatly between the East and West regions of Japan, the JAEA has developed a discrimination method for natural radionuclide and cosmic rays using the gamma energy spectra. The reliability of the airborne radiation monitoring data was confirmed through comparison with large amounts of ground measurement data. Here, we report on the measurement technique and the results. The ambient dose rate has been decreased by the increasing attenuation effect due to radioactive cesium penetration into the soil in addition to the physical decay of radioactive cesium. These results indicate the importance of airborne monitoring to evaluate and predict the radiation exposure of residents.

Joint environmental radiation survey by JAEA and KAERI around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant; Performance of mobile gamma-ray spectrometry using backpack and carborne survey platforms

Ji, Y.-Y.*; Ochi, Kotaro; Hong, S. B.*; Nakama, Shigeo; Sanada, Yukihisa; Mikami, Satoshi

Health Physics, 121(6), p.613 - 620, 2021/12

https://doi.org/10.1097/HP.0000000000001471

According to the implementing arrangement between JAEA (Japan Atomic Energy Agency) and KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) in the field of the radiation protection and environmental radiation monitoring, the joint measurement has been conducted to assess the radioactive cesium deposition in the ground around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants (FDNPP). First, mobile gamma-ray spectrometry using backpack survey platform was conducted to assess the distribution of dose rate around specific three survey sites. The carborne survey using gamma-ray spectrometers, as loading inside a vehicle, was successfully conducted to compare measured dose rates in routes from site to site and verify evaluation methods including the attenuation correction.