Vertical migration of radiocesium and clay mineral composition in five forest soils contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear accident

Abstract

In forest soils contaminated by radiocesium (134Cs and 137Cs), deposition from the Fukushima nuclear accident, clay minerals might play important roles in long-term cesium (Cs) dynamics through sorption. To determine whether radiocesium can be retained within the organic layer and the upper mineral soil layers in the Fukushima region, we investigated the vertical distribution of 134Cs and 137Cs and the clay mineral composition in five soil profiles of varying radiocesium deposition levels and vegetation types. X-ray diffraction analyses and oxalate extraction suggested that hydroxy-interlayered vermiculites and short-range-ordered aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) compounds (i.e, allophane and ferrihydrite) were major clay mineral species of the upper soil layers. The vertical soil distribution of 134Cs and 137Cs suggested that most of them were retained in the organic layer and upper mineral soil layer under different levels of deposition. Within 1.5 years after the accident, both 134Cs and 137Cs were leached from the organic layer, and most of these (59–73%) were accumulated in the upper soil layer (0–5 cm). The proportion of 137Cs (or 134Cs) leaching from the organic layer was greater at sites receiving greater amounts of precipitation. The substantial accumulation of 137Cs in the upper soil layer, irrespective of the 137Cs deposition level or clay mineral composition, suggests that sorption capacities of clays and organic matter are sufficiently high to retain 137Cs in the surface soil during at least the initial stage of contamination.