Soil dust and bioaerosols as potential sources for resuspended Cs occurring near the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant

Ota, Masakazu; Takahara, Shogo; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Nagakubo, Azusa; Hirouchi, Jun; Hayashi, Naho; Abe, Tomohisa; Funaki, Hironori; Nagai, Haruyasu

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 264, p.107198_1 - 107198_15, 2023/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2023.107198

One of the current major radiation exposure pathways from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident-fallout is inhalation of the re-suspended Cs occurring in air. While wind-induced soil particle resuspension has been recognized as a primary mechanism of Cs resuspension, studies following the FDNPP accident suggested that fungal spores can be a significant source of the atmospheric Cs particularly in the rural areas such as difficult-to-return zone (DRZ). To elucidate the relative importance of the two resuspension phenomena, we propose a model simulating resuspension of Cs as soil particles and fungal spores, and applied it to DRZ. Our model's calculation showed that soil particle resuspension was responsible for the surface-air Cs observed during winter-spring, but could not account for the higher Cs concentrations observed in summer-autumn. The higher concentrations in the summer-autumn were in general reproduced by implementing fungal spore Cs emission, that replenished low soil particle Cs resuspension in that period. According to our model's concept, Cs accumulation in fungal spores and high spore emission rate characterized by the rural environment were likely responsible for the abundance of spore Cs in the air. It was inferred that the influence of the fungal spores on the atmospheric Cs would last longer since un-decontaminated forests still exist in DRZ.

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.

Simple pretreatment method for tritium measurement in environmental water samples using a liquid scintillation counter

Nakasone, Shunya*; Yokoyama, Sumi*; Takahashi, Tomoyuki*; Ota, Masakazu; Kakiuchi, Hideki*; Sugihara, Shinji*; Hirao, Shigekazu*; Momoshima, Noriyuki*; Tamari, Toshiya*; Shima, Nagayoshi*; et al.

Plasma and Fusion Research (Internet), 16, p.2405035_1 - 2405035_5, 2021/02

https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.16.2405035

Removal of impurities such as organic and other types of dissolved matters from environmental water samples is required for precise analysis of tritium with a liquid scintillation counting method. In general, a distillation method is a conventional one for tritium analysis in environmental water samples, but is a time-consuming process that takes 24 hours for removal of impurities. We have proposed a rapid pretreatment method for tritium analysis, that uses ion exchange resins. In this study, we performed batch experiments, to evaluate the effectiveness of the ion exchange resins on the tritium measurement. The results obtained demonstrated that removal of impurities in the sample water by ion exchange resins can be achieved during a short period of time (i.e., in 5 min).

Wintertime grassland dynamics may influence belowground biomass under climate change; A Model analysis

Katata, Genki*; Grote, R.*; Mauder, M.*; Zeeman, M. J.*; Ota, Masakazu

Biogeosciences, 17(4), p.1071 - 1085, 2020/02

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1071-2020

Mountain grassland productivity is limited by cold and long winters; thus, rising temperatures and changes in snow cover expected in the future may have large impacts on the grassland yields. To investigate this, we enhanced land surface model (SOLVEG) to account for snow, freeze-thaw events, and grass growth, and the model was applied to the managed grasslands affected by extremely warm winter. The model reproduced temporal variability of observed heat fluxes, soil temperatures and snow depth throughout the 3-year simulation period. High physiological activity during the extremely warm winter led to a CO uptake of 100 g-C m, which was, surprisingly, mainly allocated into the below-ground biomass and rarely used for plant growth during spring. This process, which is so far largely unaccounted for in global terrestrial biosphere models, may lead to carbon accumulation in the soil and/or heterotrophic respiration as a response to global warming.

Development of field estimation technique and improvement of environmental tritium behavior model

Yokoyama, Sumi*; Takahashi, Tomoyuki*; Ota, Masakazu; Kakiuchi, Hideki*; Sugihara, Shinji*; Hirao, Shigekazu*; Momoshima, Noriyuki*; Tamari, Toshiya*; Shima, Nagayoshi*; Atarashi-Andoh, Mariko; et al.

Plasma and Fusion Research (Internet), 14(Sp.2), p.3405099_1 - 3405099_4, 2019/06

https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.14.3405099

The Large Helical Device of the National Institute for Fusion Science started D-D experiments in 2017. To ensure the safety of the facility, it is important to develop evaluation methods for environmental tritium transfer. Tritiated water (HTO) in atmosphere and soil is transferred to plants, and organically bound tritium (OBT) is formed by photosynthesis. Prediction of OBT formation is important, because OBT accumulates in plants and causes dose through ingestion. The objective of this study is to estimate environmental tritium transfer using a simple compartment model and practical parameters. We proposed a simple compartment model consisting of air-soil-plant components, and tried to validate the model by comparison with a sophisticated model, SOLVEG. In this study, we plan to add wet deposition to the model and obtain parameters from measurements of soil permeability and tritium concentrations in air, soil and plants. We also establish rapid pretreatment methods for OBT analysis.

Role of soil-to-leaf tritium transfer in controlling leaf tritium dynamics; Comparison of experimental garden and tritium-transfer model results

Ota, Masakazu; Kwamena, N.-O. A.*; Mihok, S.*; Korolevych, V.*

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 178-179, p.212 - 231, 2017/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.09.002

Environmental transfer models assume that organically-bound tritium (OBT) is formed directly from tissue-free water tritium (TFWT) in environmental compartments. Nevertheless, studies in the literature have shown that measured OBT/TFWT ratios are variable. The importance of soil-to-leaf HTO transfer pathway in controlling the leaf tritium dynamics is not well understood. A model inter-comparison of two tritium transfer models (CTEM-CLASS-TT and SOLVEG-II) was carried out with measured environmental samples from an experimental garden plot set up next to a tritium-processing facility. The garden plot received one of three different irrigation treatments - no external irrigation, irrigation with low tritium water and irrigation with high tritium water. The contrast between the results obtained with the different irrigation treatments provided insights into the impact of soil-to-leaf HTO transfer on the leaf tritium dynamics. Concentrations of TFWT and OBT in the garden plots that were not irrigated or irrigated with low tritium water were variable, responding to the arrival of the HTO-plume from the tritium-processing facility. In contrast, for the plants irrigated with high tritium water, the TFWT concentration remained elevated due to a continuous source of high HTO in the soil. Calculated concentrations of OBT in the leaves showed an initial increase followed by quasi-equilibration with the TFWT concentration. In this quasi-equilibrium state, concentrations of OBT remained elevated and unchanged despite the arrivals of the plume. These results from the model inter-comparison demonstrate that soil-to-leaf HTO transfer significantly affects OBT/TFWT ratio in the leaf regardless of the atmospheric HTO concentration, only if there is elevated HTO concentrations in the soil. The results of this work indicate that assessment models should be refined to consider the importance of soil-to-leaf HTO transfer to ensure that dose estimates are accurate and conservative.

A Terrestrial ecosystem model (SOLVEG) coupled with atmospheric gas and aerosol exchange processes

Katata, Genki; Ota, Masakazu

JAEA-Data/Code 2016-014, 35 Pages, 2017/01

JAEA-Data-Code-2016-014.pdf:1.64MB

In order to predict the impact of atmospheric pollutants (gases and aerosols) to the terrestrial ecosystem, new schemes for calculating the processes of dry deposition of gases and aerosols, and water and carbon cycles in terrestrial ecosystems were implemented in the one-dimensional atmosphere-SOiL-VEGetation model, SOLVEG. We made performance tests at various vegetation areas to validate the newly developed schemes. In this report, the detail in each modeled process is described with an instruction how to use the modified SOLVEG. The framework of "terrestrial ecosystem model" was developed for investigation of a change in water, energy, and carbon cycles associated with global warming and air pollution and its impact on terrestrial ecosystems.

Modeling dynamics of Cs in forest surface environments; Application to a contaminated forest site near Fukushima and assessment of potential impacts of soil organic matter interactions

Ota, Masakazu; Nagai, Haruyasu; Koarashi, Jun

Science of the Total Environment, 551-552, p.590 - 604, 2016/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.02.068

A model for Cs transfer in forest was developed to assess behavior of Fukushima-derived Cs. The model simulation well reproduced observed 3 year migration of Cs in organic layer and mineral soil. Long-term predictions indicated that more than 90% of the deposited Cs remains in the top 5 cm soil till 30 years, suggesting that forest acts as a long-term reservoir of Cs with limited loss via groundwater pathway. Impacts of soil organic matter (SOM) on Cs dynamics were investigated by modifying parameters of Cs turnover. The results showed that SOM-induced reduction of Cs adsorption, slower fixation of Cs by clay and enhanced mobilization of the fixed Cs elevate soil-to-plant transfer of Cs by increasing fraction of dissolved Cs. A substantial proportion (27% 73%) of Cs in these soils was delivered to horizons deeper than 5 cm decades later. These results suggested that SOM significantly influences behavior of Cs over long-term.

Root and dissolved organic carbon controls on subsurface soil carbon dynamics; A Model approach

Ota, Masakazu; Nagai, Haruyasu; Koarashi, Jun

Journal of Geophysical Research; Biogeosciences, 118(4), p.1646 - 1659, 2013/12

https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JG002379

We investigated the role of root litter input and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) transport in controlling subsurface SOC dynamics by a soil C model. The model involves C turnover by decomposition, interaction between SOC and DOC, and DOC transport along water flows, for three C pools (characterized by turnover times of years, decades and millennia). Model simulations with a range of rooting profiles demonstrated a large proportion (36-78%) of SOC is apportioned to the subsurface (below the first 30 cm) soils and a significant part (39-73%) of the subsurface SOC turns over decadally. DOC transport appeared to be dominant for distributing the C to the deeper horizons. Our results suggest soil C studies focusing on the surface alone significantly underestimate the stock of decadally cycling C and underpredict the responses of soil C to global changes.

Importance of root HTO uptake in controlling land-surface tritium dynamics after an-acute HT deposition; A Numerical experiment

Ota, Masakazu; Nagai, Haruyasu; Koarashi, Jun

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 109, p.94 - 102, 2012/07

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2012.02.004

To investigate the role of belowground root HTO uptake in controlling tritium (T) dynamics in a land surface ecosystem, a sophisticated numerical model predicting tritium behavior in an atmosphere-vegetation-soil system was developed and numerical experiments were conducted using the model. The developed model covered physical HT transport in multi-layered atmosphere and soil as well as microbial HT oxidation to HTO in the soil, and was incorporated into a well-established dynamical HTO transfer-OBT formation model. The model performance was tested through a simulation of an existing HT-release experiment, and the model-predicted HT deposition to the surface soil agreed with the field data at a factor of 1.1. Numerical experiments with a hypothetical acute HT exposure to a grassland field demonstrated that preferential uptake of the deposited HTO in the upper soil layers increased HTO concentrations both in the atmosphere and in the plant leaves through an enhanced soil-leaf-atmosphere HTO stream. Consequently, leaf OBT assimilation calculated with a shallow rooting depth increased by nearly an order of magnitude larger than that calculated with a deep rooting depth.