Effectiveness of landscape decontamination following the Fukushima nuclear accident: a review
<p>The Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident in March 2011 resulted in the contamination of Japanese landscapes with radioactive fallout. Accordingly, the Japanese authorities decided to conduct extensive remediation activities in the impacted region to allow for the relative...
Main Authors: | , , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2019-12-01
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Series: | SOIL |
Online Access: | https://www.soil-journal.net/5/333/2019/soil-5-333-2019.pdf |
Summary: | <p>The Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident in March 2011
resulted in the contamination of Japanese landscapes with radioactive
fallout. Accordingly, the Japanese authorities decided to conduct extensive
remediation activities in the impacted region to allow for the relatively
rapid return of the local population. The objective of this review is to
provide an overview of the decontamination strategies and their potential
effectiveness in Japan, focussing on particle-bound radiocesium. In the
Fukushima Prefecture, the decision was taken to decontaminate the
fallout-impacted landscapes in November 2011 for the 11 municipalities
evacuated after the accident (Special Decontamination Zone – SDZ – 1117 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>2</sup></span>) and for the 40 non-evacuated municipalities affected by
lower, although still significant, levels of radioactivity (Intensive
Contamination Survey Areas, 7836 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>2</sup></span>). Decontamination
activities predominantly targeted agricultural landscapes and residential
areas. No decontamination activities are currently planned for the majority
of forested areas, which cover <span class="inline-formula">∼75</span> % of the main
fallout-impacted region. Research investigating the effectiveness of
decontamination activities underlined the need to undertake concerted
actions at the catchment scale to avoid renewed contamination
from the catchment headwaters after the completion of remediation
activities. Although the impact of decontamination on the radioactive dose
rates for the local population remains a subject of debate in the literature
and in the local communities, outdoor workers in the SDZ represent a group
of the local population that may exceed the long-term dosimetric target of
1 mSv yr<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>. Decontamination activities generated <span class="inline-formula">∼20</span> million m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>3</sup></span> of soil waste by early 2019. The volume of waste generated
by decontamination may be decreased through incineration of combustible
material and recycling of the less contaminated soil for civil engineering
structures. However, most of this material will have to be stored for
<span class="inline-formula">∼30</span> years at interim facilities opened in 2017 in the
vicinity of the FDNPP before being potentially transported to final disposal
sites outside of the Fukushima Prefecture. Further research is required to
investigate the perennial contribution of radiocesium from forest sources.
In addition, the re-cultivation of farmland after decontamination raises
additional questions associated with the fertility of remediated soils and
the potential transfer of residual radiocesium to the plants. Overall, we
believe it is important to synthesise the remediation lessons learnt
following the FDNPP nuclear accident, which could be fundamental if a
similar catastrophe occurs somewhere on Earth in the future.</p> |
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ISSN: | 2199-3971 2199-398X |