Effect of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident on radiocesium distribution in tea fields in Saitama Prefecture: Intercultivar differences

Abstract

We investigated radiocesium distribution in tea plants (Camellia sinensis L. var. sinensis) of Saitama Prefecture, located approximately 200-250 km away from Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. In 2012, more than 2500 samples of tea plants were analyzed. We found differences in radiocesium concentration among tea plant cultivars, which appeared to be attributable mainly to the leaf morphology and depth of the leaf layer in tea plants. Furthermore, the radiocesium concentration in the first tea crop showed a strong correlation with that in spring skiffing.

Contamination of agricultural products and soils with radiocesium derived from the accident at TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station: monitoring, case studies and countermeasures

“…The major cause of radiocesium contamination of tea leaves was translocation of radiocesium deposited on leaves and branches in March 2011 to newly emerged leaves (Tagami et al 2012), but radiocesium transfer from soil through roots was negligibly small (Nonaka 2014). Pruning contaminated branches and leaves was effective to reduce radiocesium concentration in newly emerged tea leaves (Ishii et al 2015;Kamata et al 2015).…”