Spatial pattern of atmospherically deposited radiocesium on the forest floor in the early phase of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.

Spatial patterns of atmospherically deposited radiocesium on the forest floor and the temporal evolution were measured in two Japanese cedar stands and a secondary mixed broad-leaved forest in the early phase of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. In situ measurements of the Cs gamma count were made using a portable germanium gamma ray detector. These measurements revealed that the forest floors were contaminated with radionuclides derived from the accident.

Time Dependence of the (137)Cs Concentration in Particles Discharged from Rice Paddies to Freshwater Bodies after the Fukushima Daiichi NPP Accident.

The concentration of particulate (137)Cs in paddy fields, which can be a major source of (137)Cs entering the water system, was studied following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. To parametrize the concentration and to estimate the time dependence, paddy fields covering various levels of (137)Cs deposition were investigated over the period 2011-2013 (n = 121). The particulate (137)Cs concentration (kBq kg-SS(-1)) showed a significant correlation with the initial surface deposition density (kBq m(-2)).

Radiocesium discharge from paddy fields with different initial scrapings for decontamination after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.

To explore the behavior of radionuclides released after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident in March 2011, and the distribution of radiocesium in paddy fields, we monitored radiocesium (Cs) and suspended sediment (SS) discharge from paddy fields. We proposed a rating scale for measuring the effectiveness of surface soil removal. Our experimental plots in paddy fields were located ∼40 km from the FDNPP.

Soil removal as a decontamination practice and radiocesium accumulation in tadpoles in rice paddies at Fukushima.

We investigated the biological accumulation of radiocesium in tadpoles [Rana (Pelophylax) porosa porosa] in rice paddies with and without decontamination practice at Fukushima. Radiocesium was accumulated in surface part of soils both in the control and decontaminated paddies one year after decontamination. Mean (134)Cs and (137)Cs concentrations in tadpoles in the control and decontaminated paddies were 3000 and 4500, and 600 and 890 Bq/kg dry weight, respectively.

Initial flux of sediment-associated radiocesium to the ocean from the largest river impacted by Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

This study aimed to quantify the flux of radiocesium in the Abukuma Basin (5,172 km(2)), the largest river system affected by fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) event. In the period from 10 August 2011 to 11 May 2012 an estimated 84 to 92% of the total radiocesium transported in the basin's fluvial system was carried in particulate form. During this monitoring period Typhoon Roke (September 2011) was observed to induce a significant and temporally punctuated redistribution of radiocesium.