Numerical study of transport pathways of Cs from forests to freshwater fish living in mountain streams in Fukushima, Japan

Kurikami, Hiroshi; Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Malins, A.; Sasaki, Yoshito; Niizato, Tadafumi

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 208-209, p.106005_1 - 106005_11, 2019/11

AA2018-0485.pdf:1.87MB

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.106005

To assess the uptake of Cs-137 (Cs) by freshwater fish, we developed a compartment model for the migration of Cs on the catchment scale from forests to river water. We modelled a generic forest catchment with Fukushima-like parameters to ascertain the importance of export pathways of Cs from forests to river water for the uptake of Cs by freshwater fish. The results suggest that the decreasing trend of Cs in river water and freshwater fish was due to combination of the decreasing trend in the forest leaves/needles and litter compartments, and the increasing trend in soil. The Cs concentrations within these forest compartments plateau at around ten years after the fallout due to Cs circulation in forests reaching an equilibrium state.