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.

Depositional processes of circular abandoned channels around the middle parts of the Kumano River, Southwest Japan

Nakanishi, Toshimichi*; Komatsu, Tetsuya; Ogata, Manabu; Kawamura, Makoto; Yasue, Kenichi*

Gekkan Chikyu "Kiso deta Kara Kangaeru Dai Yonkigaku No Shintenkai-I" Gogai No.71, p.148 - 155, 2022/02

The formation process of terrace topography was investigated by observing and analyzing boring core samples collected in the middle reaches of the Kumano River. It was assumed that the older terrace topography was distributed higher than the current riverbed surface. However, since tributary debris flow deposits may be thickly distributed beneath the old gyre river valley, care must be taken when using the surface of the ground as an index of uplift and erosion.

Mineral composition characteristics of radiocesium sorbed and transported sediments within the Tomioka river basin in Fukushima Prefecture

Hagiwara, Hiroki; Konishi, Hiromi*; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Fujiwara, Kenso; Iijima, Kazuki; Kitamura, Akihiro

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 211, p.106042_1 - 106042_10, 2020/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.106042

Grain size dependence of meteoric Be concentrations in bed-sediments of Ado and Yasu rivers flowing into Lake Biwa

Fujisawa, Jumpei*; Minami, Masayo*; Kokubu, Yoko; Matsuzaki, Hiroyuki*

JAEA-Conf 2018-002, p.91 - 94, 2019/02

https://doi.org/10.11484/jaea-conf-2018-002

Beryllium-10 (Be) of a cosmogenic nuclide precipitates in forms of BeO and Be(OH) attaching with aerosol on the Earth surface. It is accumulated on the sea- and lake-bottoms. Recently, the meteoric Be is attracting attention as a powerful tool for investigating the past climate change, because it is affected by the earth- and lorcal- cyclical changes of materials such as atmosphere and water circulation. The Be exists mostly as hydroxide at pH 5, and is easy to adhere to soil and mineral surface. Therefore, Be concentration in sediment could be influenced by its grain size composition because fine-grained sediment has a big surface area per unit mass. The purpose of this study is to reveal the relationship between Be concentrations and the grain-size of river sediments. The samples used were bottom-sediments of 18 rivers flowing into Lake Biwa, Japan. The sediments were sieved to 5 fractions and analyzed each for Be concentration by JAEA-AMS-TONO.

Sedimentation behavior of mixed solid particles

Sheikh, Md. A. R.*; Son, E.*; Kamiyama, Motoki*; Morioka, Toru*; Matsumoto, Tatsuya*; Morita, Koji*; Matsuba, Kenichi; Kamiyama, Kenji; Suzuki, Toru*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 55(6), p.623 - 633, 2018/06

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2017.1419888

During core-disruptive accidents in sodium-cooled fast reactors, the sedimentation behavior of fragmented debris is crucial for in-vessel retention. The height of the beds formed may influence both the cooling of the bed and the neutronic characteristics. To develop an experimental database of bed formation behavior, a series of experiments using simulant materials, namely, AlO, ZrO, and stainless steel, were performed under gravity-driven discharge of solid particles from a nozzle into a quiescent cylindrical water pool. The bed height was measured for particles of different size, density, and sphericity, and an injection nozzle with varying diameter, injection velocity, and injection height. From these experiments, an empirical correlation was established to predict the bed height for both homogeneous and mixed particles for the different properties. This correlation reproduces reasonably well the experimental trend in bed height.

Factors controlling Cs activity concentrations in sediment collected off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture in 2013-2015

Fukuda, Miho*; Aono, Tatsuo*; Yamazaki, Shinnosuke*; Ishimaru, Takashi*; Kanda, Jota*; Nishikawa, Jun*; Otosaka, Shigeyoshi

Geochemical Journal, 52(2), p.201 - 209, 2018/00

https://doi.org/10.2343/geochemj.2.0504

To elucidate recent activity levels and the behavior of radiocesium in the coast off Fukushima Prefecture, lateral and vertical distributions of Cs in sediment were observed in 2013-2015 at 12 monitoring stations. At stations around the water depth of 100 m, relatively higher Cs activities were observed from surface sedimentary layer (0-3 cm). In these stations, sediments had high content of silt to clay particles and organic matter. The high Cs activities in the surface sediments were attributed to accumulation of highly mobile sediment particles. In October 2014, at some coastal stations, sharp peaks of Cs activities were observed in the subsurface (5-16 cm) sediments, whereas such broad peaks were not found in October 2015. These results suggest that the Cs activities in sediment had largely changed by lateral transport and re-sedimentation on the surface, as well as sediment mixing in the middle-layers.

Challenges for enhancing Fukushima environmental resilience, 7; Behavior and abundance of radiocesium in the coastal area off Fukushima

Otosaka, Shigeyoshi; Kobayashi, Takuya; Machida, Masahiko

Nihon Genshiryoku Gakkai-Shi ATOMO, 59(11), p.659 - 663, 2017/11

It is estimated that about 70% of radiocesium released to the environment by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident was carried to the ocean. In addition to monitoring surveys by the government, oceanographic research by many institutions has revealed the distribution and behavior of the accident-derived radiocesium in the ocean. Numerical simulations are efficiently used in such oceanographic investigations, and further improvements are being made based on findings newly obtained after the accident. In this paper, we review the abundance and behavior of radiocesium in the coastal area of Fukushima, deepen the scientific understanding of the current situation of environmental restoration, and explain the issues to be addressed in the future.

Preface "Radionuclides in coastal sediments after the accident of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant; Distribution, dynamics and fate"

Nagao, Seiya*; Otosaka, Shigeyoshi; Kaeriyama, Hideki*

Journal of Oceanography, 73(5), P. 527, 2017/10

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-017-0444-y

More than five years have passed since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, and many investigations have been carried out in the marine environment. Regarding the radiocesium concentration in seabed sediment, from May 2011, monitoring survey is continuing mainly in the coastal areas of Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Chiba prefectures. However, due to its heterogeneity, the difficulty of observation, etc., the assessment of the influence of the accident-derived radionuclides on seabed sediments and the benthic ecosystem is delayed compared to other environmental investigations. As the Guest Editors, the authors set up a special section in "Journal of Oceanography", including four papers arguing about factors affecting the temporal change of the radiocesium concentrations in estuarine, coastal and offshore sediments. This preface shows the planning intention of the special issue, and also outlines the contents.

User manual of Soil and Cesium Transport (SACT), a program to predict long-term Cs distribution using USLE for soil erosion, transportation and deposition

Saito, Hiroshi; Yamaguchi, Masaaki; Kitamura, Akihiro

JAEA-Testing 2016-003, 68 Pages, 2016/12

JAEA-Testing-2016-003.pdf:6.4MB

JAEA has developed a simple and fast simulation program "SACT" (Soil and Cesium Transport) to predict a long-term distribution of Cs deposited on the land surface due to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident. It calculates soil movement (erosion, transportation, deposition) and Cs migration, and predicts its future distribution with the assumption that it is adhered to soil. SACT uses USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) for potential soil loss and simple equations for soil transportation and deposition. The Cs amount is predicted by the amount of soil movement and Cs concentration ratio for each grain-size of soil. SACT is characterized by its simplicity which enables fast calculation for wide area for long-term duration using existing equations. Data for parameters are widely available and site-specific calculations are possible using data of the targeted area. This manual provides useful and necessary information to users and facilitates the use of SACT widely.

Radioactive Cs in the estuary sediments near Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Yamasaki, Shinya*; Imoto, Jumpei*; Furuki, Genki*; Ochiai, Asumi*; Onuki, Toshihiko; Sueki, Keisuke*; Namba, Kenji*; Ewing, R. C.*; Utsunomiya, Satoshi*

Science of the Total Environment, 551-552, p.155 - 162, 2016/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.155

Cesium-137 (Cs) of estuary sediment impacted by the FDNPP was measured. Increasing radioactivity was observed from surface to bottom. 90% of the Cs was strongly bound to clay minerals in the estuary sediments. These results suggest that Cs is being transported from contaminated paddy fields to the estuary.