Temporal variability of 137Cs concentrations in coastal sediments off Fukushima.

Large amounts of radiocesium were released into marine environments following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011. Released radiocesium influenced not only marine environment but also marine biota in Fukushima. Since marine biota as fisheries products is important for Japanese market, it is important to assess the distribution of radiocesium in coastal environment off Fukushima for safety concerns of radioactive contamination. Radiocesium concentrations in sediments are important for understanding fishing ground conditions and for proving the safety of fisheries products in Fukushima. In this study, monthly monitoring data collected from May 2011 to March 2020 were analyzed to describe the temporal variability of 137Cs concentrations in coastal sediments off Fukushima (total of 3647 samples from eight lines at depths of 7-125 m off Fukushima, and three sites in Matsukawa-ura Lagoon). The 137Cs concentration in sediment showed a decreasing trend, but our nonlinear model fitting suggested that this rate of decrease had slowed down. Additionally, 137Cs concentrations were up to 4.08 times greater in shallow sampling sites (7, 10, 20 m depth) following heavy rainfall events (before five months vs. after five months), such as typhoons. These observations were consistent with increasing input from particulate 137Cs fluxes from rivers and increasing dissolved 137Cs concentrations in seawater. Finally, our numerical modeling suggested that riverine 137Cs input could maintain 137Cs concentrations in coastal sediment. These results indicate that riverine 137Cs input following heavy rainfall events is the main factor for maintaining 137Cs concentrations in coastal sediments near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Radiocesium concentrations in shallow water sediments (Matsukawa-ura Lagoon, Fukushima, Japan) from a compact NaI(Tl) scintillation spectrometer.

We collected continuous sedimentary 137Cs concentration data from a shallow fishery ground (Matsukawa-ura Lagoon, Fukushima, Japan) in 2016 using a new compact underwater NaI(Tl) scintillation spectrometer and a quantitative technique. 137Cs concentrations in sediments were low (approx. 40 Bq/kg DW) at the lagoon mouth and high (641.2 Bq/kg DW) at the head of the lagoon. Some areas of locally elevated 137Cs concentrations (>500 Bq/kg DW) were also found.

The effects of sediment transport on temporal variation in radiocesium concentrations in very shallow water off the southern coast of Fukushima, Japan.

We studied the very shallow coastal water off Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, and investigated: (1) temporal variation in 137Cs concentrations; (2) particle-size distribution of sediments; and (3) the effect on variation by waves, component-fractionated concentration of radiocesium and mineral composition at three sampling stations (Yotsukura, Ena rocky reef and Ena sandy station). There was a decline in 137Cs concentrations in sediment samples at all sampling stations between 425 and 1173 days after the accident. All stations had fluctuations in 137Cs concentrations between 425 and 800 days. At Ena sandy station and Ena rocky reef stations the declines in 137Cs concentrations slowed from about 800 days after the accident. Fluctuations in particle median diameters were seen, as well as in 137Cs concentrations. At Yotsukura, where the fluctuation in median diameter was small, a constant decrease in 137Cs concentrations was observed. We considered that bioturbation may contribute the constant decrease. At Ena sandy station, where the fluctuation of the median diameter was large, the fluctuation in 137Cs concentrations was also large. The movement of sediments was evaluated by the Shields parameter, and results indicated that at any station where the sediment was moved more frequently, the fluctuation in 137Cs concentrations was also large. The highly contaminated small particles moved from our stations due to wave action between 425 and 800 days after the accident. The remaining relatively large particles might contribute to the slowing down in reduction of 137Cs concentrations from 800 days after the accident. However, the 137Cs concentrations in sediments in very shallow water off the southern coast of Fukushima may continue to decline over time.

Biological half-life of radioactive cesium in Japanese rockfish Sebastes cheni contaminated by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident.

Since the Fukushima accident in March 2011 the concentration of radioactive cesium in Japanese rockfish (Sebastes cheni) has been decreasing slower than other fish species. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the possibility of slow elimination rate (i.e., relatively longer Tb) as one of the reasons for the slow decrease in (137)Cs concentrations in Japanese rockfish (S. cheni). To do this, we reared twenty-three individuals of this species for a period of about 1 year, during which time we measured the (137)Cs concentrations and γ-ray spectra 14 times by using a high-efficiency NaI(Tl) scintillator. We then examined the relationship between the (137)Cs concentrations and the total length of each individual. We estimated the biological half-life (Tb, day) for each individual using the total number of (137)Cs counts in the energy region, and examined the effects of total length and (137)Cs concentration on Tb by generalized linear model (GLM). We also examined the effect of sex, total length, seawater temperature, and the (137)Cs concentration of seawater on temporal changes in the (137)Cs count reduction rate by GLM. There was no clear relationship between the corrected whole-body (137)Cs concentrations and the total length in females, however there was a significant positive correlation between these two variables in males. The difference between males and females may be attributable to variation in the degree of dilution because of variable growth of individuals, and suggests that the (137)Cs concentrations of small individuals may be greatly diluted because of faster growth. However, there was no significant difference in Tb between sexes. The mean Tb (±SD) in all individuals was 269 (±39) days; this Tb value is 2.7-5.4 times longer than past Tb values (marine fish: 50-100 days), and is thought to be one of the reasons for the slower decrease in (137)Cs concentrations in this species than other fish species on the coast of Fukushima. The GLM showed significant effects of both total length and (137)Cs concentration on Tb, which may reflect a reduction in the metabolic rate with increased body size (i.e., aging) and gradient of concentration against seawater. The GLM also showed a significant positive effect of seawater temperature on the reduction rate of the (137)Cs counts (D, day(-1)). Therefore, D was clearly related to seasonal variations in the temperature of seawater, and this relationship may be attributable to changes in the metabolic rate that are controlled by variations in the seawater temperature. From these measurements, we examined the processes that control reductions in (137)Cs radioactivity.