Contamination processes of tree components in Japanese forest ecosystems affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident Cs fallout

Ota, Masakazu; Koarashi, Jun

Science of the Total Environment, 816, p.151587_1 - 151587_21, 2022/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151587

In forests affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, trees became contaminated with Cs. However, Cs transfer processes determining tree contamination (particularly for stem wood, which is a prominent commercial resource in Fukushima) remain insufficiently understood. This study proposes a model for simulating the dynamic behavior of Cs in a forest tree-litter-soil system and applied it to two contaminated forests (cedar plantation and natural oak stand) in Fukushima. The model-calculated results and inter-comparison of the results with measurements elucidated the relative impact of distinct Cs transfer processes determining tree contamination. The transfer of Cs to trees occurred mostly ( 99%) through surface uptake of Cs directly trapped by leaves or needles and bark during the fallout. By contrast, root uptake of Cs from the soil was unsubstantial and several orders of magnitude lower than the surface uptake over a 50-year period following the accident. As a result, the internal contamination of the trees proceeded through an enduring recycling (translocation) of Cs absorbed on the tree surface at the time of the accident. A significant surface uptake of Cs at the bark was identified, contributing 100% (leafless oak tree) and 30% (foliated cedar tree; the remaining surface uptake occurred at the needles) of the total Cs uptake by trees. It was suggested that the trees growing at the study sites are currently (as of 2021) in a decontamination phase; the activity concentration of Cs in the stem wood decreases by 3% per year, mainly through radioactive decay of Cs and partly through a dilution effect from tree growth.

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

Analysis of Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Unit 3 pressure data and obtained insights on accident progression behavior

Sato, Ikken

Nuclear Engineering and Design, 383, p.111426_1 - 111426_19, 2021/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2021.111426

Preparation of carbonate slurry simulating chemical composition of slurry in overflowed high integrity container and evaluation of its characteristics

Horita, Takuma; Yamagishi, Isao; Nagaishi, Ryuji; Kashiwaya, Ryunosuke*

JAEA-Technology 2021-012, 34 Pages, 2021/07

JAEA-Technology-2021-012.pdf:2.1MB
JAEA-Technology-2021-012(errata).pdf:0.15MB

Waste mainly consisting of carbonate precipitates (carbonate slurry) from the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) and the improved ALPS at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of Tokyo Electric Power Holdings, Inc. have been storing in the High Integrity Container (HIC). The supernatant solution of carbonate slurry contained in some of HICs were overflowed in April of 2015. The all of level of liquid in the HICs were investigated; however, almost of the HICs were under the level of overflow. The mechanism of overflow suggested to be depending on the difference of the properties of the carbonate slurry such as the retention/release characteristics of the bubbles. Therefore, in order to clarify the mechanism of leakage, the repeatability experiment was carried out by using simulated carbonate slurry. The simulated carbonate slurry was perpetrated by using the same cross-flow filter system of the actual ALPS. Moreover, the preparative conditions for the simulated carbonate slurry were the same as Mg/Ca concentration ratio in inlet water of the ALPS (raw water) and the ALPS operating conditions. The chemical characteristics of simulated carbonate slurries were revealed by ICP-AES, pH meter, etc. The density of the settled slurry layer tended to increase depending on the calcium concentration in the raw water. The bubble injection test was conducted in order to investigate the bubble retention/release behavior in the simulated carbonate slurry layer. The simulated carbonate slurry with high settling density, which was generated by high calcium concentration solution was revealed to retain the injected bubbles. Since the ratio of concentration calcium and magnesium during the carbonate slurry generation is assumed to affect the retention of bubbles in the slurry layer, the information on the composition of raw water is one of important factor for overflow of HICs.

Microparticles with diverse sizes and morphologies from mechanical and laser cutting of fuel debris simulants and geopolymer as a covering material

Zhou, Q.*; Saito, Takumi*; Suzuki, Seiya; Yano, Kimihiko; Suzuki, Shunichi*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 58(4), p.461 - 472, 2021/04

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2020.1869623

The Study of oxidative stress status in the organs exposed to low dose/low dose-rate radiation (Contract research); FY2019 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tohoku University*

JAEA-Review 2020-048, 49 Pages, 2021/01

JAEA-Review-2020-048.pdf:4.38MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2019. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2019, this report summarizes the research results of the "The study of oxidative stress status in the organs exposed to low dose/low dose-rate radiation". This study investigates the biological effects of low dose/low dose-rate radiation exposure, which is of great social interest, on the oxidative stress status of individual organs and will contribute to the collection of scientific data in a dose range to be required. An interdisciplinary collaborative study discussed the correlation between radiation dose and the biological effect by analyzing the samples of wild Japanese macaques exposed to radiation due to the accident of Fukushima nuclear power station and of animal experiments.

Criticality configuration design methodology applied to the design of fuel debris experiment in the new STACY

Gunji, Satoshi; Tonoike, Kotaro; Clavel, J.-B.*; Duhamel, I.*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 58(1), p.51 - 61, 2021/01

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2020.1798825

The new critical assembly STACY will be able to contribute to the validation of criticality calculations related to the fuel debris. The experimental core designs are in progress in the frame of JAEA/IRSN collaboration. This paper presents the method applied to optimize the design of the new STACY core to measure the criticality characteristics of pseudo fuel debris that simulated Molten Core Concrete Interaction (MCCI) of the fuel debris. To ensure that a core configuration is relevant for code validation, it is important to evaluate the reactivity worth of the main isotopes of interest and their k sensitivity to their cross sections. In the case of the fuel debris described in this study, especially for the concrete composition, silicon is the nucleus with the highest k sensitivity to the cross section. For this purpose, some parameters of the core configuration, as for example the lattice pitches or the core dimensions, were adjusted using optimization algorithm to find efficiently the optimal core configurations to obtain high sensitivity of silicon capture cross section. Based on these results, realistic series of experiments for fuel debris in the new STACY could be defined to obtain an interesting feedback for the MCCI. This methodology is useful to design other experimental conditions of the new STACY.

A Linear Equation of characteristic time profile of power in subcritical quasi-steady state

Yamane, Yuichi

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 57(8), p.926 - 931, 2020/08

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2020.1736682

An equation of power in subcritical quasi-steady state has been derived based on one-point kinetics equations for the purpose of utilizing it for the development of timely reactivity estimation from complicated time profile of neutron count rate. It linearly relates power, , to a new variable , which is a function of time differential of the power. It has been confirmed by using one-point kinetics code, AGNES, that the calculated points () are perfectly in a line described by the new equation and that points () calculated from transient subcritical experiments by using TRACY made a line with a slope indicated by the new equation.

Chemical forms of uranium evaluated by thermodynamic calculation associated with distribution of core materials in the damaged reactor pressure vessel

Ikeuchi, Hirotomo; Yano, Kimihiko; Washiya, Tadahiro

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 57(6), p.704 - 718, 2020/06

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2020.1720844

To suggest efficient process of the fuel debris treatment after the retrieval from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (1F), thorough investigation is indispensable on potential source of U in the fuel debris. Estimation on the fuel debris accumulated in the reactor pressure vessel is specifically important due to its limited accessibility. The present study aims to estimate the chemical forms of U in the in-vessel fuel debris, especially in the minor phases such as metallic phases, by performing the thermodynamic calculation considering the material relocation and changing environment during the accident progression in the 1F Unit 2. Input conditions for the thermodynamic calculation such as composition, temperature, and oxygen amount were assumed mainly based on the results of severe accident analysis. The chemical form of U varied depending on the local amount of Fe and O. In regions of low steel content, the U-containing metallic phase was dominated by -(Zr,U)(O), while regions of high steel content were dominated by Fe(Zr,U) (Laves phase). A few percent of U was transferred to the metallic phases under reducing conditions, raising challenging issues on the chemical removal of nuclear material from fuel debris.

Eye lens dosimetry for workers at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, 1; Laboratory study on the dosemeter position and the shielding effect of full face mask respirators

Hoshi, Katsuya; Yoshitomi, Hiroshi; Aoki, Katsunori; Tanimura, Yoshihiko; Tsujimura, Norio; Yokoyama, Sumi*

Radiation Measurements, 134, p.106304_1 - 106304_5, 2020/06

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radmeas.2020.106304

In FY 2017, the Japanese Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRA) established the Radiation Safety Research Promotion Fund for funding projects on nuclear safety regulation, and adopted the two-year research project entitled "Study on standard eye lens monitoring, suitable dose management and radiation protection for nuclear and medical workers". The study is a two-phase study: a laboratory study on the eye lens dosemeter's characteristics to photons, and a field study executed at actual workplaces at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. This paper summarizes the results of the first-phase study, which was designed to clarify the eye lens dosemeter positioning and the shielding effect of full face mask respirators used at the station. No marked difference was observed in readings of the dosemeters attached on the different positions on the head phantom. Two types of full face mask respirators provided insignificant shielding effect for photons of 83 keV to 662 keV.