Behavior of accidentally released radiocesium in soil–water environment: Looking at Fukushima from a Chernobyl perspective

Konoplev, A.; Golosov, Valentin; Laptev, Gennady; Nanba, Kenji; Onda, Yuichi; Takase, Tsugiko; Wakiyama, Yoshifumi; Yoshimura, Kazuya

doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2015.06.019

Cited by 98 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…How will the crushed granite, which was homogenised into the soil, affect the soil's fertility? Recent research showed that potassium fertilisation is required to maintain productivity when restarting cultivation after decontamination (Kurokawa et al, 2019). Indeed, as was demonstrated in the current literature review, the reopening of the region after the completion of remediation activities represents a unique situation in history, coupled with unprecedented challenges that require further ongoing investigations.…”

Section: Perspectives For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…A lack of replicates was outlined by the authors and prevented them from finally reaching a conclusion on the effectiveness of surface removal for decontamination (Sakai et al, 2014a). In contrast, Kurokawa et al (2019) observed an 80 % decrease in 137 Cs activities in the ploughed layer after decontamination in cultivated land of Tomioka town, showing the efficiency of this remediation strategy.…”

Section: Soil and Farmland Decontamination And Soil To Plant Transfersmentioning

confidence: 97%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Effectiveness of landscape decontamination following the Fukushima nuclear accident: a review

Evrard

Laceby

Nakao

2019

SOIL

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident in March 2011 resulted in the contamination of Japanese landscapes with radioactive fallout. Accordingly, the Japanese authorities decided to conduct extensive remediation activities in the impacted region to allow for the relatively rapid return of the local population. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the decontamination strategies and their potential effectiveness in Japan, focussing on particle-bound radiocesium. In the Fukushima Prefecture, the decision was taken to decontaminate the fallout-impacted landscapes in November 2011 for the 11 municipalities evacuated after the accident (Special Decontamination Zone -SDZ -1117 km 2 ) and for the 40 non-evacuated municipalities affected by lower, although still significant, levels of radioactivity (Intensive Contamination Survey Areas, 7836 km 2 ). Decontamination activities predominantly targeted agricultural landscapes and residential areas. No decontamination activities are currently planned for the majority of forested areas, which cover ∼ 75 % of the main fallout-impacted region. Research investigating the effectiveness of decontamination activities underlined the need to undertake concerted actions at the catchment scale to avoid renewed contamination from the catchment headwaters after the completion of remediation activities. Although the impact of decontamination on the radioactive dose rates for the local population remains a subject of debate in the literature and in the local communities, outdoor workers in the SDZ represent a group of the local population that may exceed the long-term dosimetric target of 1 mSv yr −1 . Decontamination activities generated ∼ 20 million m 3 of soil waste by early 2019. The volume of waste generated by decontamination may be decreased through incineration of combustible material and recycling of the less contaminated soil for civil engineering structures. However, most of this material will have to be stored for ∼ 30 years at interim facilities opened in 2017 in the vicinity of the FDNPP before being potentially transported to final disposal sites outside of the Fukushima Prefecture. Further research is required to investigate the perennial contribution of radiocesium from forest sources. In addition, the re-cultivation of farmland after decontamination raises additional questions associated with the fertility of remediated soils and the potential transfer of residual radiocesium to the plants. Overall, we believe it is important to synthesise the remediation lessons learnt following the FDNPP nuclear accident, which could be fundamental if a similar catastrophe occurs somewhere on Earth in the future.

show abstract

Section: Perspectives For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Soil and Farmland Decontamination And Soil To Plant Transfersmentioning

confidence: 97%

Effectiveness of landscape decontamination following the Fukushima nuclear accident: a review

Evrard

Laceby

Nakao

2019

SOIL

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Studies of r-Cs vertical migration in soils of river catchments show that, as a rule, its transport due to dispersion prevails over its convective transport (Konshin, 1992;Ivanov et al, 1997;Konoplev et al, 2016)…”

Section: Sampling and Processing Of Bottom Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstruction of long-term dynamics of Chernobyl-derived <sup>137</sup>Cs in the Upa River using bottom sediments in the Scheckino reservoir and semi-empirical modelling

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Two cores of bottom sediments were collected in 2018 to a depth of ∼200 cm in the deepest part of the Scheckino reservoir on the Upa River (9500 km2), Tula region, Russia. This area was severely contaminated by radiocesium (r-Cs) after the Chernobyl accident in 1986. The fact that 137Cs activity concentrations in a specific horizon of the bottom sediments correspond to 137Cs concentrations associated with suspended matter delivered to the reservoir, provides a basis for constructing the dynamics of particulate 137Cs activity concentrations in the Upa River catchment from 1986 to 2017. Over the time since the Chernobyl accident, the particulate 137Cs concentrations have decreased by more than an order of magnitude, with only minor changes occurring during the last 15 years. Using a typical value for the distribution coefficient Kd for the rivers of the Chernobyl contamination zone, dissolved 137Cs activity concentrations in the Upa River have been estimated and their changes over the past 30 years since the accident have been studied. The resulting estimates of dissolved 137Cs concentrations in the Upa River have been found to be in good agreement with measured data over the period 1987–1991. The proposed and tested method provides a basis for reconstructing the long-term dependence of radionuclide concentrations in rivers and reservoirs based on their vertical distribution in bottom sediments. Reconstructed time dependencies of particulate and dissolved 137Cs activity concentrations in the Upa River were found to be described well by the proposed semi-empirical “diffusion” model based on an assumption that the time dependency of particulate r-Cs in the river corresponds to the time dependency of its concentration in top soil layers across the catchment which can be approximated by a dispersion-convection equation with physically meaningful parameters.

show abstract

“…Через 30 років після Чорнобильської катастрофи зона відчуження продовжує залишатись відкритим джерелом поширення радіонуклідів, що надходять із поверхневими та ґрунтовими водами в річкові системи та виносяться за її межі (Beresford et al, 2016;Evangeliou et al, 2016;Konoplev et al, 2016). Водойми басейнів Дніпра та Прип'ятіодні з найбільших водних систем у Європізосередили близько 2,3 пБк 90 Sr і 19,6 пБк 137 Cs (Romanenko et al, 2014;Evangeliou et al, 2015).…”

Section: вступunclassified

Cytogenetic activity of radionuclide contamination of water reservoirs of the alienation zone of Chornobyl NPP

Yakymchuk

2018

Regul. Mech. Biosyst.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Thirty years after the accident, the alienation zone of Chornobyl NPP continues to be an open source of radionuclide spread which is carried with superficial and soil waters into river systems and moves beyond the area. The study of mutagenic activity of radionuclide contamination of the water reservoirs in the near zone of Chornobyl NNP will make it possible to predict genetic consequences of their effect in the years after the accident. The purpose of this research is to study frequency and spectrum of chromosome aberrations in root meristem cells of Triticum aestivum L. under the prolonged effect of radionuclide contamination of water and bottom deposits of the water reservoirs in the near alienation zone of Chornobyl NPP. Seeds of winter wheat varieties Al’batros odes’kyi and Zymoiarka were sprouted in the conditions of the effect of water radionuclide contamination of the Prypiat River, Brahinka River, a reservoir-cooler of ChNPP, Semyhodskyi backwater, drainage-way 3 of ChNPP, Lakes Hlyboke and Azbuchyn (total specific activity of 137Cs and 90Sr – 0.17–52.99 Bq/м3) and bottom deposits of the left and right banks of Prypiat canal, a reservoir-cooler of ChNPP, drainage-ways 1–3 of ChNPP (total specific activity of 137Cs and 90Sr – 16.0–45.0 Bq/kg). Frequency and spectrum of cytogenetic disorders were identified in the cells of root meristem sprouts with help of the ana-telophase method. Under the influence of radiation on water and bottom deposits of the water reservoirs in the alienation zone of ChNPP, a 1.6–4.2 times increase in the frequency of chromosome aberrations and mitosis disorders was found. The highest levels of cytogenetic activity were shown by water radionuclide contamination in a reservoir-cooler of ChNPP, Semyhodskyi backwater and bottom deposits of drainage-way 2. The correlation between frequency of chromosome aberrations and specific value of radionuclide activity of water reservoirs has not been recorded, which can prove the induction of cytogenetic disorders resulting from the radiation in the low-rate range. The spectrum of cytogenetic disorder types is mostly represented by acentric fragments, bridges and lagging chromosomes. The induction of the cells with lagging chromosomes, which exhibit the highest levels (0.24–0.38%), under the effect of radionuclide contamination of water in Hlyboke Lake, the Brahinka River, the Prypiat River, a reservoir-cooler of ChNPP and bottom deposits of drainage-way 3, allows one to assume the availability of aneugenic factors in the water reservoirs in the alienation zone of ChNPP. The water entities of the alienation zone of ChNPP, the level of radionuclide contamination of which is characterized by a high cytogenetic activity, induce cells with complex chromosome rearrangements of high frequency. Despite the decrease in chromosome aberration frequency effected by the water of the Prypiat River near Chornobyl city, the Brahinka River and bottom deposits of the right bank of Prypiat canal, the increased level of aneugenic cells and the induction of multiple chromosome rearrangements confirm the persistence of mutagenic activity in the abovementioned contaminated water entities.

show abstract

Behavior of accidentally released radiocesium in soil–water environment: Looking at Fukushima from a Chernobyl perspective

Cited by 98 publications

References 32 publications

Effectiveness of landscape decontamination following the Fukushima nuclear accident: a review

Effectiveness of landscape decontamination following the Fukushima nuclear accident: a review

Reconstruction of long-term dynamics of Chernobyl-derived <sup>137</sup>Cs in the Upa River using bottom sediments in the Scheckino reservoir and semi-empirical modelling

Cytogenetic activity of radionuclide contamination of water reservoirs of the alienation zone of Chornobyl NPP

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Behavior of accidentally released radiocesium in soil–water environment: Looking at Fukushima from a Chernobyl perspective

Cited by 98 publications

References 32 publications

Effectiveness of landscape decontamination following the Fukushima nuclear accident: a review

Effectiveness of landscape decontamination following the Fukushima nuclear accident: a review

Reconstruction of long-term dynamics of Chernobyl-derived &lt;sup&gt;137&lt;/sup&gt;Cs in the Upa River using bottom sediments in the Scheckino reservoir and semi-empirical modelling

Cytogenetic activity of radionuclide contamination of water reservoirs of the alienation zone of Chornobyl NPP

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Reconstruction of long-term dynamics of Chernobyl-derived <sup>137</sup>Cs in the Upa River using bottom sediments in the Scheckino reservoir and semi-empirical modelling