Radionuclide Analysis on Bamboos following the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

Takumi Higaki,Seiichiro Hasezawa,Shogo Higaki,Kae Akita,Masahiro Hirota,Eric Y Chuang

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034766

Takumi Higaki, Seiichiro Hasezawa + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0034766

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Abstract

In response to contamination from the recent Fukushima nuclear accident, we conducted radionuclide analysis on bamboos sampled from six sites within a 25 to 980 km radius of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Maximum activity concentrations of radiocesium 134Cs and 137Cs in samples from Fukushima city, 65 km away from the Fukushima Daiichi plant, were in excess of 71 and 79 kBq/kg, dry weight (DW), respectively. In Kashiwa city, 195 km away from the Fukushima Daiichi, the sample concentrations were in excess of 3.4 and 4.3 kBq/kg DW, respectively. In Toyohashi city, 440 km away from the Fukushima Daiichi, the concentrations were below the measurable limits of up to 4.5 Bq/kg DW. In the radiocesium contaminated samples, the radiocesium activity was higher in mature and fallen leaves than in young leaves, branches and culms.

Highlights

On March 11, 2011, several large earthquakes hit the northeast coast of Honshu, Japan, followed by a massive tsunami along the east coastline of Japan
In Toyohashi and Beppu cities, radiocesium activities were below the measurable limits of up to 4.50 Bq/kg dry weight (DW)
We report the radiocesium contamination of bamboos sampled within a 25 to 980 km radius of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant

Summary

Introduction

On March 11, 2011, several large earthquakes hit the northeast coast of Honshu, Japan, followed by a massive tsunami along the east coastline of Japan. The tsunami that damaged the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants caused huge releases of radionuclides into the environment of Japan [1]. The spread and effects of the 134Cs and 137Cs radionuclides have become of prime interest because of their dose and long half-lives of 2 and 30 years, respectively. The large quantities of bamboo leaves that are often used for bamboo grass tea or as cattle food are indicative of their huge environmental impact. The fallen leaves that are spread in the environment might enter the human food chain via soil decomposer. We report the results of the radionuclide analysis on bamboos following the Fukushima nuclear accident

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