Calibration of Safecast dose rate measurements.

A methodology is presented to calibrate contributed Safecast dose rate measurements acquired between 2011 and 2016 in the Fukushima prefecture of Japan. The Safecast data are calibrated using observations acquired by the U.S. Department of Energy at the time of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi power plant nuclear accident. The methodology performs a series of interpolations between the U.S. government and contributed datasets at specific temporal windows and at corresponding spatial locations. The coefficients found for all the different temporal windows are aggregated and interpolated using quadratic regressions to generate a time dependent calibration function. Normal background radiation, decay rates, and missing values are taken into account during the analysis. Results show that the standard Safecast static transformation function overestimates the official measurements because it fails to capture the presence of two different Cesium isotopes and their changing magnitudes with time. A model is created to predict the ratio of the isotopes from the time of the accident through 2020. The proposed time dependent calibration takes into account this Cesium isotopes ratio, and it is shown to reduce the error between U.S. government and contributed data. The proposed calibration is needed through 2020, after which date the errors introduced by ignoring the presence of different isotopes will become negligible.

Radioactive and stable cesium isotope distributions and dynamics in Japanese cedar forests.

Dynamics of the Fukushima-derived radiocesium and distribution of the natural stable isotope 133Cs in Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) forest ecosystems were studied during 2014-2016. For the experimental site in Yamakiya, Fukushima Prefecture, we present the redistribution of radiocesium among ecosystem compartments during the entire observation period, while the results obtained at another two experimental site were used to demonstrate similarity of the main trends in the Japanese forest ecosystems. Our observations at the Yamakiya site revealed significant redistribution of radiocesium between the ecosystem compartments during 2014-2016. During this same period radionuclide inventories in the aboveground tree biomass were relatively stable, however, radiocesium in forest litter decreased from 20 ± 11% of the total deposition in 2014 to 4.6 ± 2.7% in 2016. Radiocesium in the soil profile accumulated in the 5-cm topsoil layers. In 2016, more than 80% of the total radionuclide deposition in the ecosystem resided in the 5-cm topsoil layer. The radiocesium distribution between the aboveground biomass compartments at Yamakiya during 2014-2016 was gradually approaching a quasi-equilibrium distribution with stable cesium. Strong correlations of radioactive and stable cesium isotope concentrations in all compartments of the ecosystem have not been reached yet. However, in some compartments the correlation is already strong. An increase of radiocesium concentrations in young foliage in 2016, compared to 2015, and an increase in 2015-2016 of the 137Cs/133Cs concentration ratio in the biomass compartments with strong correlations indicate an increase in root uptake of radiocesium from the soil profile. Mass balance of the radionuclide inventories, and accounting for radiocesium fluxes in litterfall, throughfall and stemflow, enabled a rough estimate of the annual radiocesium root uptake flux as 2 ± 1% of the total inventory in the ecosystem.

Radioactive contamination of arthropods from different trophic levels in hilly and mountainous areas after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident.

In order to understand the influence of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident on the ecosystem in hilly and mountainous areas of Fukushima Prefecture, chronological changes in the levels of radiocesium in arthropod species were investigated. From 2012 to 2014, arthropods from different trophic levels were sampled and the air radiation dose rates at the sampling sites were analyzed. The air radiation dose rates showed a significant and constant reduction over the 2 years at the sampling sites in Fukushima. The median radiocesium concentration (134Cs + 137Cs) detected in the rice grasshopper, Oxya yezoensis, and the Emma field cricket, Teleogryllus emma, dropped continuously to 0.080 and 0.078 Bq/g fresh weight, respectively, in 2014. In contrast, no significant reduction in radioactive contamination was observed in the Jorô spider, Nephila clavata, in which the level remained at 0.204 Bq/g in 2014. A significant positive correlation between radiocesium concentration and the air radiation dose rate was observed in the rice grasshopper, the Emma field cricket and the Jorô spider. The highest correlation coefficient (ρ = 0.946) was measured in the grasshopper.

Variation of radiocesium concentrations in cedar pollen in the Okutama area since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.

Due to releases of radionuclides in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, radiocesium ((134)Cs and (137)Cs) has been incorporated into large varieties of plant species and soil types. There is a possibility that radiocesium taken into plants is being diffused by pollen. Radiocesium concentrations in cedar pollen have been measured in Ome City, located in the Okutama area of metropolitan Tokyo, for the past 3 y. In this research, the variation of radiocesium concentrations was analysed by comparing data from 2011 to 2014. Air dose rates at 1 m above the ground surface in Ome City from 2011 to 2014 showed no significant difference. Concentration of (137)Cs contained in the cedar pollen in 2012 was about half that in 2011. Between 2012 and 2014, the concentration decreased by approximately one-fifth, which was similar to the result of a press release distributed by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Difference in cesium accumulation among rice cultivars grown in the paddy field in Fukushima Prefecture in 2011 and 2012.

After the accident of the Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011, radioactive cesium was released and paddy fields in a wide area including Fukushima Prefecture were contaminated. To estimate the levels of radioactive Cs accumulation in rice produced in Fukushima, it is crucial to obtain the actual data of Cs accumulation levels in rice plants grown in the actual paddy field in Fukushima City. We herein conducted a two-year survey in 2011 and 2012 of radioactive and non-radioactive Cs accumulation in rice using a number of rice cultivars grown in the paddy field in Fukushima City. Our study demonstrated a substantial variation in Cs accumulation levels among the cultivars of rice.

The effect of fertilization on cesium concentration of rice grown in a paddy field in Fukushima Prefecture in 2011 and 2012.

After the accident of the Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011, radioactive cesium was released and paddy field in a wide area of Fukushima Prefecture was contaminated. To reduce radioactive Cs uptake by rice, it is important to understand factors that affect Cs uptake in rice. Here we describe our study in 2011 and 2012 to investigate Cs concentration in two rice cultivars, Koshihikari and Hitomebore, the top two cultivars in Fukushima prefecture, grown under different fertilizer conditions in the contaminated paddy field. Our study demonstrated that high nitrogen and low potassium conditions increase Cs concentrations both in straw and brown rice.

Low background high efficiency radiocesium detection system based on positron emission tomography technology.

After the 2011 nuclear power plant accident at Fukushima, radiocesium contamination in food became a serious concern in Japan. However, low background and high efficiency radiocesium detectors are expensive and huge, including semiconductor germanium detectors. To solve this problem, we developed a radiocesium detector by employing positron emission tomography (PET) technology. Because (134)Cs emits two gamma photons (795 and 605 keV) within 5 ps, they can selectively be measured with coincidence. Such major environmental gamma photons as (40)K (1.46 MeV) are single photon emitters and a coincidence measurement reduces the detection limit of radiocesium detectors. We arranged eight sets of Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) scintillation detectors in double rings (four for each ring) and measured the coincidence between these detectors using PET data acquisition system. A 50 × 50 × 30 mm BGO was optically coupled to a 2 in. square photomultiplier tube (PMT). By measuring the coincidence, we eliminated most single gamma photons from the energy distribution and only detected those from (134)Cs at an average efficiency of 12%. The minimum detectable concentration of the system for the 100 s acquisition time is less than half of the food monitor requirements in Japan (25 Bq/kg). These results show that the developed radiocesium detector based on PET technology is promising to detect low level radiocesium.

Estimation of internal exposure of the thyroid to (131)I on the basis of (134)Cs accumulated in the body among evacuees of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident.

Namie Town was heavily contaminated by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident. The thyroid equivalent dose for residents who lived in Namie was estimated using results of whole body counting examinations which were carried out by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency a few months after the nuclear accident. Photon peaks of (131)I and (134)Cs were previously measured by the authors using a NaI(Tl) scintillation spectrometer and that information was used to estimate the (131)I/(134)Cs activity ratio of total intake in the present study. The maximum values of (131)I/(134)Cs activity ratio corresponding to thyroid uptake factors of 0.3, 0.1 and 0.03 were evaluated to be 0.9, 2.6 and 8.7, respectively. The maximum value of the (131)I/(134)Cs activity ratio was used to obtain the most conservative thyroid equivalent dose estimation. The maximum internal exposure of the thyroid to (131)I on the basis of (134)Cs accumulated in the body measured by the whole body counter was estimated to be 18mSv. This value was much smaller than 50mSv that the International Atomic Energy Agency recommends as the dose at which exposed persons should take stable iodine tablets.

Retention of potentially mobile radiocesium in forest surface soils affected by the Fukushima nuclear accident.

The fate of (137)Cs derived from the Fukushima nuclear accident fallout and associated radiological hazards are largely dependent on its mobility in the surface soils of forest ecosystems. Thus, we quantified microbial and adsorptive retentions of (137)Cs in forest surface (0-3 cm) soils. The K(2)SO(4) extraction process liberated 2.1%-12.8% of the total (137)Cs from the soils. Two soils with a higher content of clay- and silt-sized particles, organic carbon content, and cation exchange capacity showed higher (137)Cs extractability. Microbial biomass was observed in all of the soils. However, the (137)Cs extractability did not increase after destruction of the microbial biomass by chloroform fumigation, providing no evidence for microbial retention of the Fukushima-fallout (137)Cs. The results indicate that uptake of (137)Cs by soil microorganisms is less important for retention of potentially mobile (137)Cs in the forest surface soils compared to ion-exchange adsorption on non-specific sites provided by abiotic components.

Effects of regional climate changes on the planktonic ecosystem and water environment in the frozen Notoro Lagoon, northern Japan.

Diatom fossils from core sediments and living diatoms from water samples of Notoro Lagoon in northern Japan were examined to evaluate natural climate effects on lagoon environmental changes. In 1974, the artificial inlet was excavated. Immediately after, the anoxic bottom water in Notoro Lagoon began to disappear due to an increasing water exchange rate. However, chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the bottom water of Notoro Lagoon gradually increased, with fluctuations, during the last 30 years. In addition, the dominant diatom assemblages in Notoro Lagoon shifted to ice-related and spring bloom taxa after the excavation. The dominant taxa of each year in the sediment core were also strongly related to the timing of lagoon ice melting. This is because the COD in Notoro Lagoon was affected by the deposited volume of blooming diatoms, which was controlled by the duration of ice cover and the timing of ice discharge to the Okhotsk Sea likely due to an air pressure pattern change over the northern North Pacific like the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO).

The transfer of stable ¹³³Cs from rice to Japanese sake.

Possible contamination by radioactive cesium (Cs), released by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant Accident in Japan on March 2011, has been a matter of concern with respect to Japanese sake made from rice grains cultivated in affected fields. In this study, the behavior of stable (133)Cs, which is a useful analogue for predicting the behavior of radioactive Cs, was investigated in the production of sake using rice grains harvested in Japan in 2010. The concentration of stable (133)Cs in the polished rice grains decreased gradually with decreasing milling ratios until a ratio of 70% was reached, and below that point, it did not change significantly. The (133)Cs concentration in the 70% polished rice was approximately 20% of that found in brown rice. The sake was brewed on a small scale using 70% polished rice, and the transfer of (133)Cs from rice to sake was examined. Approximately 30-40% of (133)Cs in the 70% polished rice was removed during the washing and the steeping of the rice grains, and approximately 40% of the (133)Cs in the 70% polished rice was transferred to the sake. If the radioactive Cs species behaves similarly, these results suggest that brown rice containing 100 Bq/kg radioactivity of Cs would generate 70% polished rice grains containing 20 Bq/kg and that the sake brewed from these grains would contain 3-5 Bq/kg.

Cesium isotope ratios as indicators of nuclear power plant operations.

There are multiple paths by which radioactive cesium can reach the effluent from reactor operations. The radioactive (135)Cs/(137)Cs ratios are controlled by these paths. In an effort to better understand the origin of this radiation, these (135)Cs/(137)Cs ratios in effluents from three power reactor sites have been measured in offsite samples. These ratios are different from global fallout by up to six fold and as such cannot have a significant component from this source. A cesium ratio for a sample collected outside of the plant boundary provides integration over the operating life of the reactor. A sample collected inside the plant at any given time can be much different from this lifetime ratio. The measured cesium ratios vary significantly for the three reactors and indicate that the multiple paths have widely varying levels of contributions. There are too many ways these isotopes can fractionate to be useful for quantitative evaluations of operating parameters in an offsite sample, although it may be possible to obtain limited qualitative information for an onsite sample.

Accumulation of potassium, rubidium and caesium (133Cs and 137Cs in various fractions of soil and fungi in a Swedish forest.

Radiocaesium ((137)Cs) was widely deposited over large areas of forest in Sweden as a result of the Chernobyl accident in 1986 and many people in Sweden eat wild fungi and game obtained from these contaminated forests. In terms of radioisotope accumulation in the food chain, it is well known that fungal sporocarps efficiently accumulate radiocaesium ((137)Cs), as well as the alkali metals potassium (K), rubidium (Rb) and caesium (Cs). The fungi then enhance uptake of these elements into host plants. This study compared the accumulation of these three alkali metals in bulk soil, rhizosphere, soil-root interface, fungal mycelium and sporocarps of mycorrhizal fungi in a Swedish forest. The soil-root interface was found to be distinctly enriched in K and Rb compared with the bulk soil. Potassium concentrations increased in the order: bulk soil

(137)Cs baseline levels in the Mediterranean and Black Sea: a cross-basin survey of the CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch programme.

The common mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis was selected as unique biomonitor species to implement a regional monitoring programme, the CIESM Mediterranean Mussel Watch (MMW), in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. As of today, and upon standardization of the methodological approach, the MMW Network has been able to quantify (137)Cs levels in mussels from 60 coastal stations and to produce the first distribution map of this artificial radionuclide at the scale of the entire Mediterranean and Black Seas. While measured (137)Cs levels were found to be very low (usually < 1 Bq kg(-1) wet wt) (137)Cs activity concentrations in the Black Sea and North Aegean Sea were up to two orders of magnitude higher than those in the western Mediterranean Basin. Such effects, far from representing a threat to human populations or the environment, reflect a persistent signature of the Chernobyl fallout in this area.

[The radioactive contamination dynamics of water body ecosystems of different types in the Chernobyl atomic station alienation zone in Belarus].

The long-term (1986-2005) gamma-activity dynamics in dominating zoobenthos species and the bottom sediments in the inlet of Pripyat river and the non-flowing Perstok lake within the Chernobyl alienation zone was determined. Immediately after the accident (1986-1987) zoonehthos y-activity achieved the maximal values (up to 300-1100 kBq/kg) and after that began to decline steadily due to natural decay of man-caused radionuclides of "Chernobyl origin". Up to summer 2005 gastropod mollusks gamma-activity (Lymnaea stagnalis, Viviparus viviparus) approached to the natural level (less than 6 Bq/kg) in the inlet of Pripyat river, but it remained at the very high level up to 979-1638 Bq/kg in the Perstok lake. The positive correlation between gamma-activity of mollusks and bottom sediments has been established. In turn, the long-term variations of atmospheric precipitate amounts which wash down radionuclides from surrounding territories to water bodies and the amounts of annual flow of the Pripyat river as well as shoreline position changes in water bodies within the Chernobyl alienation zone influence on these values too.

Disequilibrium between uranium and its progeny in the Lake Issyk-Kul system (Kyrgyzstan) under a combined effect of natural and manmade processes.

The Kadji-Sai abandoned field of U-bearing brown coal on the southern coast of Lake Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan) poses a threat of radioactive pollution to the world's fifth deepest and second largest pristine highland lake. The valleys of ephemeral streams in the lake catchment are filled with coarse-grained sand and clay, with a background U--Ra activity of 35--55 Bqkg(-1). High activity areas vs. this background come from three sources: (1) scarce outcrops of uraniferous brown coal and mining wastes containing fragments of this coal with (238)U/(226)Ra ratios of 0.8 due to uranium losses through weathering; (2) manmade anomalies caused by a radioactive waste dump, where U was extracted from the ash of coal burnt at a coal-fired power plant. As a result, the (238)U/(226)Ra ratios become 0.15--0.25; (3) six catch pools terraced below the mine, where U activity decreases downslope, and (238)U/(226)Ra ratios reach 150--200. Uranium lost in the extraction process may have been retained on the terraces. The distribution pattern of radionuclides in the bottom sediments of the lake is controlled by water depth and offshore distance. The upper section of homogeneous limy--argillic deposits in the lake center remains undisturbed by currents, as indicated by regular sub-exponential distribution of atmospheric (137)Cs and (210)Pb(atm). Sedimentation rate in the lake center for the past century, found from (210)Pb, was 0.32 mmyr(-1). (238)U/(226)Ra in deep-water sediments was about 3. The activity of uranium adsorbed by sediments from the lake water was estimated by subtraction of the Ra-equilibrium component from the total U activity. Thus, the flux of dissolved U to the bottom sediments was as 2.07 x 10(-7)gcm(-2)yr(-1). The upper section of near-shore deposits was disturbed by currents, with (137)Cs and (210)Pb(atm) more or less uniformly distributed in this layer. Peaks of (226)Ra and (210)Pb occur at different depths from 5 to 20 cm below the sediment surface, with (238)U/(226)Ra ratios 0.28--0.44. The presence of mullite in these sediments indicated that radioactive ash penetrated into the lake in the past. At present, (226)Ra in the ash is buried under a non-radioactive cap.

Reconstruction of 137Cs signal in Cuba using 7Be as tracer of vertical transport processes in the atmosphere.

Levels of 137Cs and 7Be in aerosols have been measured in the region of Cienfuegos (Cuba) during the period 1994-1998. 137Cs showed the same seasonal trend as 7Be and the monthly regimes of precipitation seemed to be responsible for the observed pattern. The 137Cs/7Be ratio obtained in Cienfuegos and Miami (FL) in this period was used to calibrate the long-term database of 137Cs concentrations recorded in Miami (250 km from Cienfuegos). The database was then employed to reconstruct the 137Cs monthly concentrations in Cienfuegos since 1957.

Dating of marine sediments and time evolution of heavy metal concentrations in the Bay of Cádiz, Spain.

In this paper the time evolution of heavy metal concentration of Pb, Zn, Cd and Hg, in the sediments of the Bay of Cádiz (southwest of Spain) is studied during the past century, as a result of the industrial influence in the zone. The study has been performed using sedimentary profiles that have been extracted from the seabed. The measurement of 210Pb and 137Cs radionuclides has provided the dating of the sediment layers, up to a depth corresponding to the age of 115 years. The relative sedimentation rates obtained are around 0.2 cm/year. The 137Cs activity profile reflects the concentration of this radionuclide in the atmosphere and into aquatic systems during the second half of the twentieth century. This profile has been used to ratify the results provided by the 210Pb dating method.