Factors controlling radiocesium distribution in river sediments: Field and laboratory studies after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

Fan, Qiaohui; Tanaka, Kohei; Sakaguchi, Aya; Kondo, Hiroaki; Watanabe, Naoko; Takahashi, Yoshio

doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2014.07.012

Cited by 42 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 41 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Zachara et al, 2002;Wendling, 2005;Nakao et al 2012). Hence, our results for the riverine system were compared with the adsorption experiments using radiocaesium on riverine sediments from sites A, B and C conducted with trace amounts of 137 Cs by Fan et al (2014b). This showed that the K d values for this work were of the same order of magnitude as that obtained in laboratory experiments.…”

Section: Distribution Coefficient (K D ) For the Suspended Solidssupporting

confidence: 72%

Size distribution studies of 137Cs in river water in the Abukuma Riverine system following the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

Sakaguchi

Tanaka

Iwatani

et al. 2015

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

Self Cite

107

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Distribution Coefficient (K D ) For the Suspended Solidssupporting

confidence: 72%

Size distribution studies of 137Cs in river water in the Abukuma Riverine system following the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

Sakaguchi

Tanaka

Iwatani

et al. 2015

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

Self Cite

107

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Previous works have also pointed out that fallout radiocesium and FDNPP-derived radiocesium in soils did not reach isotope equilibrium with stable Cs (Tsukada et al, 2008;Saito et al, 2014). Fan et al (2014b) reported that Cs adsorption on riverbed sediments was a reversible process, and they used the same sediment samples as in this study. This means that an isotope exchange reaction could occur between radiocesium and stable Cs through adsorption of radiocesium.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…Indium was added as an internal standard to each sample solution at a concentration of 1 ppb for the ICP-MS measurements. The concentration of Cs in the samples collected in November 2012 has already been reported byFan et al (2014b).…”

mentioning

confidence: 78%

Size distribution of alkali elements in riverbed sediment and its relevance to fractionation of alkali elements during chemical weathering

Tanaka

Watanabe

2015

Chemical Geology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…River sediments were found to have a high 137 Cs adsorption capacity (Fan et al, 2014a). Multiple studies demonstrated that radiocesium concentrations were elevated in the fine particle size fractions (Fan et al, 2014a;Sakaguchi et al, 2015;Tanaka et al, 2015Tanaka et al, , 2014.…”

Section: Radiocesium Particle Size Distributionsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Importantly, K d was found to be related to the proportion of large particles (e.g. low clay content), the clay mineralogy of small particles, and the aqueous phase cation concentration (Fan et al, 2014a). As radiocesium is primarily bound to fine sediment particles (Yamaguchi et al, 2012), it is important to understand the relationship between radiocesium and particle size for modelling radiocesium transfer at larger scales.…”

Section: Radiocesium Distribution Coefficient (Dissolved/particulate)mentioning

confidence: 98%

Radiocesium transfer from hillslopes to the Pacific Ocean after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident: A review

Evrard

Laceby

Lepage

et al. 2015

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

159

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The devastating tsunami triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011 inundated the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) resulting in a loss of cooling and a series of explosions releasing the largest quantity of radioactive material into the atmosphere since the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Although 80% of the radionuclides from this accidental release were transported over the Pacific Ocean, 20% were deposited over Japanese coastal catchments that are subject to frequent typhoons. Among the radioisotopes released during the FDNPP accident, radiocesium ((134)Cs and (137)Cs) is considered the most serious current and future health risk for the local population. The goal of this review is to synthesize research relevant to the transfer of FDNPP derived radiocesium from hillslopes to the Pacific Ocean. After radiocesium fallout deposition on vegetation and soils, the contamination may remain stored in forest canopies, in vegetative litter on the ground, or in the soil. Once radiocesium contacts soil, it is quickly and almost irreversibly bound to fine soil particles. The kinetic energy of raindrops instigates the displacement of soil particles, and their bound radiocesium, which may be mobilized and transported with overland flow. Soil erosion is one of the main processes transferring particle-bound radiocesium from hillslopes through rivers and streams, and ultimately to the Pacific Ocean. Accordingly this review will summarize results regarding the fundamental processes and dynamics that govern radiocesium transfer from hillslopes to the Pacific Ocean published in the literature within the first four years after the FDNPP accident. The majority of radiocesium is reported to be transported in the particulate fraction, attached to fine particles. The contribution of the dissolved fraction to radiocesium migration is only relevant in base flows and is hypothesized to decline over time. Owing to the hydro-meteorological context of the Fukushima region, the most significant transfer of particulate-bound radiocesium occurs during major rainfall and runoff events (e.g. typhoons and spring snowmelt). There may be radiocesium storage within catchments in forests, floodplains and even within hillslopes that may be remobilized and contaminate downstream areas, even areas that did not receive fallout or may have been decontaminated. Overall this review demonstrates that characterizing the different mechanisms and factors driving radiocesium transfer is important. In particular, the review determined that quantifying the remaining catchment radiocesium inventory allows for a relative comparison of radiocesium transfer research from hillslope to catchment scales. Further, owing to the variety of mechanisms and factors, a transdisciplinary approach is required involving geomorphologists, hydrologists, soil and forestry scientists, and mathematical modellers to comprehensively quantify radiocesium transfers and dynamics. Characterizing radiocesium transfers from hillslopes to the Pacific Ocean is necess...

show abstract

Factors controlling radiocesium distribution in river sediments: Field and laboratory studies after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

Cited by 42 publications

References 41 publications

Size distribution studies of 137Cs in river water in the Abukuma Riverine system following the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

Size distribution studies of 137Cs in river water in the Abukuma Riverine system following the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

Size distribution of alkali elements in riverbed sediment and its relevance to fractionation of alkali elements during chemical weathering

Radiocesium transfer from hillslopes to the Pacific Ocean after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident: A review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About