Testing mosses exposed in bags as biointerceptors of airborne radiocaesium after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station accident

Di Palma, A.; Adamo, P.*; Dohi, Terumi; Fujiwara, Kenso; Hagiwara, Hiroki; Kitamura, Akihiro; Sakoda, Akihiro; Sato, Kazuhiko; Iijima, Kazuki

Chemosphere, 308, Part 1, p.136179_1 - 136179_13, 2022/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136179

The present study shows the use of mosses transplanted in bags, called as moss bags, as biosensors of airborne radioactive dusts in the environment of the evacuated zone of Fukushima. A standardized protocol was applied and three moss species were used. Background sites of Okayama Prefecture were used for comparison. In the Fukushima area, the moss bags were able to accumulate radiocaesium in all exposure sites and periods, with Sphagnum palustre moss acting as the most performant moss. The radiocaesium activity concentrations dectected in mosses were in strong agreement with the Cs deposition levels and decontamination status of each exposure site. The accumulation of soil-derived radiocaesium by moss bags was supported by autoradiography and electron microscopy analyses. The linear dependency of Cs accumulation with the exposure time allowed a radiocaesium quantitative assessment.

Using CO Reactions to Achieve Mass-spectrometric Discrimination in Simultaneous Plutonium-isotope Speciation with Inductively Coupled Plasma-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Matsueda, Makoto; Kawakami, Tomohiko*; Koarai, Kazuma; Terashima, Motoki; Fujiwara, Kenso; Iijima, Kazuki; Furukawa, Makoto*; Takagai, Yoshitaka*

Chemistry Letters, 51(7), p.678 - 682, 2022/07

https://doi.org/10.1246/cl.220160

New methodology for a simultaneous isotope speciation of various Pu isotopes without complicated isobaric interferences is developed by using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In analyzing ICP tandem MS (ICP-MS/MS), CO gas reactions in a dynamic reaction cell (DRC) almost eliminated the background noise intensity produced by isobaric interference from isotopes originating from actinides such as Am, Cm, and U at the locations (m/z) of significant Pu isotopes (Pu, Pu, Pu, Pu, Pu).

Radiocaesium accumulation capacity of epiphytic lichens and adjacent barks collected at the perimeter boundary site of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station

Dohi, Terumi; Omura, Yoshihito*; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Sasaki, Takayuki*; Fujiwara, Kenso; Kanaizuka, Seiichi*; Nakama, Shigeo; Iijima, Kazuki

PLOS ONE (Internet), 16(5), p.e0251828_1 - e0251828_16, 2021/05

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251828

Vertical distribution of Sr and Cs in soils near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

Sasaki, Takayuki*; Matoba, Daisuke*; Dohi, Terumi; Fujiwara, Kenso; Kobayashi, Taishi*; Iijima, Kazuki

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 326(1), p.303 - 314, 2020/10

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-020-07294-3

Key factors controlling radiocesium sorption and fixation in river sediments around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, 2; Sorption and fixation behaviors and their relationship to sediment properties

Tachi, Yukio; Sato, Tomofumi*; Takeda, Chizuko*; Ishidera, Takamitsu; Fujiwara, Kenso; Iijima, Kazuki

Science of the Total Environment, 724, p.138097_1 - 138097_10, 2020/07

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138097

To understand and predict radiocesium transport behaviors in the environment, sorption and fixation behaviors of radiocesium on river sediments from Ukedo and Odaka rivers around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant were investigated systematically focusing on Cs sorption and fixation mechanisms and their relationship with Cs concentrations and sediment properties including clay mineralogy and organic matter.

Temporal decrease in air dose rate in the sub-urban area affected by the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident during four years after decontamination works

Nakama, Shigeo; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Fujiwara, Kenso; Ishikawa, Hiroyasu; Iijima, Kazuki

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 208-209, p.106013_1 - 106013_8, 2019/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.106013

Trends of air dose rate decrease after decontamination works and factors which affect them constitute essential information for radiation protection, such as prediction of external exposure to the public and implementation of measures to reduce such exposure. This study investigated the decrease of air dose rate (ambient dose rate at 1 m above the ground) at 163 points across sub-urban areas in the evacuation zone around the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant over the period of four years following the decontamination works carried out in November 2012. The air dose rate on the asphalt pavement decreased faster than on soil surfaces. In addition, air dose rates near the forest decreased at a slower pace than in open fields. These results suggest that the air dose rate in urbanized areas can decrease faster than in other types of land, even after decontamination. Based on comparisons with decrease rates obtained in other studies, the air dose rate tends to decrease faster outside the evacuation zone than inside it. The decrease in air dose rate after decontamination was slower than before decontamination. The contribution of the weathering effect and human activity was estimated to be about 80% and 20% of the ecological decrease rate, respectively.

Electron microscopic analysis of radiocaesium-bearing microparticles in lichens collected within 3 km of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant

Dohi, Terumi; Tagomori, Hisaya; Omura, Yoshihito*; Fujiwara, Kenso; Kanaizuka, Seiichi*; Iijima, Kazuki

Environmental Radiochemical Analysis VI, p.58 - 70, 2019/09

https://doi.org/10.1039/9781788017732-00058

In this study we established a separation method for radiocaesium-bearing microparticles (CsMPs) from lichens using electron microscopic analysis. Lichens were first digested within hydrogen peroxide and then an automatic particle analyser system based on FE-EPMA was used for detecting CsMPs within lots of mineral-like and metallic particles quickly. The elemental composition and radiocaesium activities of the separated CsMPs were measured, and the results show that the digestion treatment did not influence the CsMPs characteristics. An inhomogeneous elemental distribution was found in some CsMPs by two-dimensional elemental analysis using FE-EMPA. Our methods for separation of CsMPs and analysing their elemental composition are expected to be useful for grasping the chemical composition trends of CsMPs statistically.

Separation of radiocaesium-bearing micro particle from environmental samples; Application to litter samples

Tagomori, Hisaya; Dohi, Terumi; Ishii, Yasuo; Kanaizuka, Seiichi*; Fujiwara, Kenso; Iijima, Kazuki

JAEA-Technology 2019-001, 37 Pages, 2019/03

JAEA-Technology-2019-001.pdf:26.85MB

An efficient methodology for separating the radiocaesium-bearing micro particles (CsMPs) released by the TEPCO's Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station accident is required to investigate their spatial distribution and physicochemical properties. In this report we developed an efficiency separation method for CsMP from litters since the radiocaesium in litter may affect the radiocaesium cycling in forest ecosystem. One CsMP separation from litter containing lots of soil particles was attained within three days using electron microscopic analysis with digestion treatment of organic matter. This methodology is expected as CsMPs efficient separation method for not only forest floor litter but also barks and leaves of living tree, and other organic materials in the forested environment.

Radiocaesium activity concentrations in parmelioid lichens within a 60 km radius of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant

Dohi, Terumi; Omura, Yoshihito*; Kashiwadani, Hiroyuki*; Fujiwara, Kenso; Sakamoto, Yoshiaki; Iijima, Kazuki

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 146, p.125 - 133, 2015/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2015.04.013

Radiocaesium activity concentrations (Cs, Cs) were measured in parmelioid lichens collected within the Fukushima Prefecture approximately 2 y after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident. A total of 44 samples consisting of nine species were collected at 16 points within a 60 km radius of the FDNPP. The activity concentration of Cs ranged from 4.6 to 1000 kBq kg and for Cs ranged from 7.6 to 1740 kBq kg. A significant positive correlation was found between the Cs activity concentration in lichens and the Cs deposition density on soil, based on the calculated Spearman's rank correlation coefficients as = 0.90 ( 0.01). The two dominant species, Flavoparmelia caperata and Parmotrema clavuliferum, showed strong positive correlations, for which the r values were calculated as 0.92 ( 0.01) and 0.90 ( 0.01) respectively. Therefore, they are suggested as biomonitoring species for levels of radiocaesium fallout within the Fukushima Prefecture.

Decontamination of school facilities in Fukushima-city

Yoshikawa, Hideki; Iijima, Kazuki; Sasamoto, Hiroshi; Fujiwara, Kenso; Mitsui, Seiichiro; Kitamura, Akira; Kurikami, Hiroshi; Tokizawa, Takayuki; Yui, Mikazu; Nakayama, Shinichi

Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, Vol.1518, p.269 - 275, 2013/10

https://doi.org/10.1557/opl.2013.75

Following the release of radionuclides into the environment as a result of the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) had to develop an immediate and effective method of reducing the dose rate received by students in school facilities. A demonstration of a reducing method was carried out by JAEA at a junior high school ground and kindergarten yard in the center of Fukushima-city. Dose rates of the released radionuclides are largely controlled by the ground level contamination and accumulation of mainly cesium-137 (Cs) and cesium-134 (Cs) in populated areas. An effective means of reducing dose rate was to remove the surface soil and to bury it on-site under fresh uncontaminated soil or soil collected under deep depth at the site for shielding. The dose rate at1 m above ground level was reduced from 2.5 Sv/h to 0.15 Sv/h.