Abstract
AbstractMore than 22,000,000 m3 of soil was contaminated with cesium (Cs) radioisotopes following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. For site remediation, it is necessary to reduce this huge volume of contaminated soil. To achieve this, we investigated the distribution of contamination within soil particles. We measured the radioactivity distribution in soil particles using an autoradiogram (ARG) method, with a resolution of 50 × 50 μm, and also determined the elemental distributions with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The ARG showed that almost all particles were uniformly contaminated with Cs radioisotopes, while the elemental distributions indicated that the particles were clay aggregates. These results suggest that, by impacting contaminated particles with each other and classifying them, we can reduce the volume of contaminated soil.
Highlights
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident in 2011 resulted in the widespread contamination of Fukushima Prefecture with cesium (Cs) radioisotopes
On the basis of guidance provided by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, which advised the removal of contaminated soil, Cs radioisotopes have been removed together with the soil from the ground surface to a depth of 5 cm
More than 22,000,000 m3 of soil was contaminated with cesium radioisotopes following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
Summary
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident in 2011 resulted in the widespread contamination of Fukushima Prefecture with cesium (Cs) radioisotopes. The quantity of soil removed in Fukushima Prefecture is about 22,000,000 m3 (Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan, 2017). Because of the huge amount of contaminated soil collected, it is necessary to reduce its volume. It is generally considered that Cs radioisotopes are mainly associated with small soil particles (McKinley et al, 2001, 2004; Mukai, Motai, Yaita, & Kogure, 2016; Mukai, Hirose et al, 2016); size classification may offer a simple and effective means of volume reduction (Ishii et al, 2012). If Cs radioisotopes are distributed on the surface of small soil particles, it would be possible to reduce the activity by ABOUT THE AUTHORS
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