Dose Estimation of External and Internal Exposure in Japanese Macaques After the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Abstract

Cumulative dose of external and internal exposures following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) accident was estimated for Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) around FNPP. Conversion factors for Japanese macaques modeled as ellipsoids were estimated for external exposure from contaminated ground and internal exposure uniformly distributed in the body. Conversion factors for seven radionuclides, namely, tellurium-129 (129 Te), 129m Te, iodine-131 (131 I), 132 Te, 132 I, cesium-134 (134 Cs) and 137 Cs were calculated using the PHITS code. The estimated factors for the seven radionuclides were consistent with those in ICRP Publication 108, using an effective radius for comparison. The external, internal and total exposures for 13 macaques in Namie Town were estimated by applying the calculated factors. The estimated cumulative exposures for the periods from the accident occurred to the sampling date, ranged from 0.26 to 1.6 Gy. The average exposure was 0.64 Gy in averaged over the 11 sampled macaques except for the 2 macaques which might be born after the FNPP accident.