Visual analysis of air dose rate maps

Takahashi, Shigeo*; Sakurai, Daisuke*; Nagao, Fumiya; Kurikami, Hiroshi; Sanada, Yukihisa

Shimyureshon, 42(2), p.68 - 75, 2023/06

This paper introduces a case in which scientific knowledge on understanding the deposition process of radionuclides and evaluating the dose rate reduction due to decontamination work was obtained through visual analysis based on data on the spatio-temporal distribution of air dose rates accumulated through radiation monitoring after the accident. We will discuss the prospects for future efforts to effectively obtain important knowledge that will assist in the planning of policies for reconstruction from the nuclear power plant accident in the future.

Radiation distribution around Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station decade after the accident

Sanada, Yukihisa; Sasaki, Miyuki; Kurikami, Hiroshi; Mikami, Satoshi

Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology, 21(1), p.95 - 114, 2023/03

https://doi.org/10.7733/jnfcwt.2023.006

During the decades after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) accident, ambient dose rates have markedly decreased when compared to those at the early state of the accident. Government projects have been continuously conducted by surveying the ambient dose rate and radiocesium distributions. Airborne surveys using crewed helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are the best methods for obtaining an overall picture of the distribution. However, ground-based surveys are required for accurate measurements near the population. The differences between these methods include the knowledge of the post depositional behavior of radionuclides in land use. The survey results form the basis for policy decisions such as lifting evacuation zones, decontamination, and other countermeasures. These surveys contain crucial findings regarding post-accident responses. This paper reviews the survey methods of government projects and current situation around the FDNPS. The visualization methods and databases of ambient dose rates are also reviewed to provide information to the population.

A Modeling approach to estimate H discharge from rivers; Comparison of discharge from the Fukushima Dai-ichi and inventory in seawater in the Fukushima coastal region

Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Machida, Masahiko; Kurikami, Hiroshi; Iwata, Ayako; Yamada, Susumu; Iijima, Kazuki

Science of the Total Environment, 806(Part 3), p.151344_1 - 151344_8, 2022/02

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151344

Design, construction and monitoring of temporary storage facilities for removed contaminants

Saegusa, Hiromitsu*; Funaki, Hironori; Kurikami, Hiroshi; Sakamoto, Yoshiaki; Tokizawa, Takayuki*

Insights Concerning the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident, Vol.4; Endeavors by Scientists, p.170 - 187, 2021/10

Removed contaminants including soil, grass and trees are to be stored safely at temporary storage facilities for several years, after which they will be transferred to a planned interim storage facility. The decontamination pilot project was carried out in both the restricted and planned evacuation areas in order to assess decontamination methods and demonstrate measures for radiation protection of workers. Fourteen temporary storage facilities of different technical specifications were designed and constructed under various topographic conditions and land use. In order to support the design, construction and monitoring of temporary storage facilities for removed contaminants during the full-scale decontamination within the prefecture of Fukushima, technical know-how obtained during the decontamination pilot project has been identified and summarized in this paper.

Radiocesium transfer from forest catchment to freshwater fish living in mountain streams estimated from environmental monitoring data in Fukushima Prefecture

Kurikami, Hiroshi

Impacts of Fukushima Nuclear Accident on Freshwater Environments, p.227 - 247, 2021/00

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3671-4_14

The relationship between radiocesium migration in forest and fish contamination was analyzed by using a model and environmental monitoring data. As the result, it was estimated that radiocesium sources in forest transferred to fish were changing with time. In the first several years after the accident, the main sources were leaves that fell directly into rivers and litter layer of the forest floor, which led the fast decrease of radiocesium concentration in fish. After the period, the main source was switched to the organic soil underlying the litter layer.

Applications of radiocesium migration models to Fukushima environmental issues; Numerical analysis of radiocesium transport in temperature-stratified reservoirs by 3D-Sea-SPEC

Yamada, Susumu; Machida, Masahiko; Kurikami, Hiroshi

Proceedings of Joint International Conference on Supercomputing in Nuclear Applications + Monte Carlo 2020 (SNA + MC 2020), p.140 - 146, 2020/10

BB2019-1620.pdf:0.72MB

no abstracts in English

Simulation study of the effects of buildings, trees and paved surfaces on ambient dose equivalent rates outdoors at three suburban sites near Fukushima Dai-ichi

Kim, M.; Malins, A.; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Kurikami, Hiroshi; Kitamura, Akihiro; Machida, Masahiko; Hasegawa, Yukihiro*; Yanagi, Hideaki*

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 210, p.105803_1 - 105803_10, 2019/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2018.09.001

To improve the accuracy of simulations for air dose rates over fallout contaminated areas, the distribution of the radionuclides within the environment should be modelled realistically, e.g. considering differences in radioactivity levels between agricultural land, urban surfaces, and forest compartments. Moreover simulations should model the shielding of rays by buildings, trees and land topography. Here we outline a system for generating three dimensional models of urban and rural areas in Fukushima Prefecture. The Cs and Cs radioactivity distribution can be set flexibly across the different components of the model. The models incorporate realistic representations of local buildings, based on nine common Japanese designs, individual conifer and broadleaf trees, and the topography of the land surface. Models are generated from Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and Digital Surface Model (DSM) datasets, and refined by users assisted with ortho-photographs of target sites. Completed models are exported from the system in a format suitable for the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS) for the calculation of air dose rates and other radiological quantities. The system is demonstrated by modelling a suburban area 4 km from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant that has yet to be decontaminated. Air dose rates calculated in PHITS were correlated with measurements taken across the site in a car-borne survey.

A Modeling approach to estimate the Cs discharge in rivers from immediately after the Fukushima accident until 2017

Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Kurikami, Hiroshi; Namba, Kenji*; Zheleznyak, M.*

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 208-209, p.106041_1 - 106041_12, 2019/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.106041

We developed a simple model to evaluate and predict Cs discharge from catchment using tank model and L-Q equation. Using this model, Cs discharge and discharge ratio from Abukuma River and 13 other rivers in Fukushima coastal region were estimated from immediately after Fukushima accident to 2017. Cesium-137 discharge ratio to the deposition amount in catchment through Abukuma River and 13 other rivers in Fukushima coastal region during about initial six months were estimated to be 18 TBq (3.1%) and 11 TBq (0.8%), respectively. These values were 1-2 orders of magnitude larger than the previous study observed after June 2011, indicating that initial Cs discharge from catchment through rivers was a significant. However it was founded that an impact on the ocean derived from initial Cs discharge through river can be limited because Cs discharge from Abukuma River and 13 other rivers in Fukushima coastal region (29 TBq) was two orders of magnitude smaller than the direct release from FDNPP into the ocean (3.5 PBq) and from atmospheric deposition into the ocean (7.6 PBq).

Long-term simulations of radiocesium discharge in watershed with improved radiocesium wash-off model; Applying the model to Abukuma River basin of Fukushima

Liu, X.; Machida, Masahiko; Kurikami, Hiroshi; Kitamura, Akihiro

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 203, p.135 - 146, 2019/07

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2019.03.001

In order to simulate the long-term migration and distribution of radiocesium after the Fukushima accident, a numerical model, Soil and Cesium Transport (SACT) based on universal soil loss equation (USLE), has been developed in previous studies. Although the SACT model's results on radiocesium discharge in 2011 are in reasonable agreement with field measurements, it fails to capture the sharp decrease of radiocesium flux in subsequent years, especially in the case of Abukuma River. We therefore have improved SACT by implementing the vertical migration and fixation of radiocesium in soil. For validation purpose, the annual average radiocesium concentration in sediments discharged from Abukuma River has been evaluated from measurement data. New model achieved much better agreement with the measurement results without parameter tuning.

Development of the evaluation tool for air dose rate in forest using a Monte Carlo radiation transport code (PHITS)

Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Niizato, Tadafumi; Kim, M.; Malins, A.; Machida, Masahiko; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Kurikami, Hiroshi; Kitamura, Akihiro; Hosomi, Masaaki*

Kankyo Hoshano Josen Gakkai-Shi, 6(3), p.145 - 152, 2018/09

We simulated air dose rates using PHITS to consider how the partitioning of radiocesium between the forest canopy, litter layer and soil layer affected air dose rates by perturbing the radiocesium source distribution between different simulations. Transferring radiocesium from the canopy to the litter layer did not affect air dose rates at 1 m above the ground when setting up the simulation with a radiocesium distribution measured in October 2015. This is because there was almost no radiocesium in the canopy at that time. However air dose rates tended to be high near the canopy, and above the canopy up to 200 m altitude, when the simulations were initiated using source distribution data applicable for August-September 2011, due to the larger amount of radiocesium in the canopy at that time. Transferring the radiocesium from the canopy to the litter layer in this case was associated with a three times increase in the air dose rate at 1 m, as the average distance between radiocesium in the forest and 1 m above the ground was shortened. In both cases radiocesium transfer from the litter layer to the underlying soil was associated with a one third to 50% reduction in air dose rates at 1 m, due to the self-shielding effect of soil.