Assessment of Pollution of the Waters in the South Kuril Fishing Zone of Russia by Radioactive Waters from the Fukushima-1 NPP Based on Lagrangian Modeling

Abstract

The study investigates the potential hazard arising from the actions taken by the Japanese government regarding the discharge of technical radioactive water from the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant storage facilities. The contamination of the South Kuril Fishing Zone (SKFZ), which is one of the most promising fishing areas for the Russian Federation, with radioactive particles, is considered. Based on the modeling of passive markers simulating radioactive contamination, the study analyzes the pathways and mechanisms of pollution transfer into the SKFZ. The research is conducted using altimetric data on geostrophic currents for the period from August 24, 2022, to August 24, 2023. The pollution transfer into the SKFZ is determined by a set of conditions related to the current development regime of the First Kuril Meander and the local vortex system with varying characteristics, both near the discharge site and at the SKFZ border. A seasonal dependence of the speed and quantity of polluted water infiltration toward the Russian Federation’s shores is established. The possibility of rapid pollution advection into the SKFZ within 13 days has been discovered. This speed is due to the entrainment of contamination by the Kuril Meander and its further transport by the mesoscale vortex system to the SKFZ border. The study reveals periodicity in the influx of pollution into the SKFZ. Graphs depicting the distribution of the quantity of “dirty” markers over their release times and the arrival of polluted water at the SKFZ border have been created.