Retention of radiocaesium particle in Parmelioid lichens

土肥 輝美; 藤原 健壮; 大村 嘉人*; 田籠 久也*; 飯島 和毅; 北村 哲浩

no journal, , 

In order to understand and estimate the behavior of radiocaesium discharged by the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) accident in the environment, it is essential to clarify the chemical characteristics of initially deposited radiocaesium. Since lichens are known to uptake and retain radionuclides in the thalli for long periods, they are expected to be used as bioindicator for characterization of fallout radiocaesium. It is expected that lichens can uptake radiocaesium by both ion exchange and particulate entrapment. However, little is known about such mechanisms. In this study, we focused on parmelioid lichens, which commonly distributed well throughout Fukushima prefecture in Japan, and investigate characteristics of particulate matters containing radiocaesium (caesium particle) in the lichens by electron microscope.