Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-qs9v7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-15T16:33:48.258Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

5 - Ocean Transport of Radioactive Materials

from Part I - Transport of Radioactive Materials in the Environment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 August 2019

Teruyuki Nakajima
Affiliation:
University of Tokyo
Toshimasa Ohara
Affiliation:
National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan
Mitsuo Uematsu
Affiliation:
University of Tokyo
Yuichi Onda
Affiliation:
University of Tsukuba, Japan
Get access

Summary

Radioactive substances were released from the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) accident into the environment, beginning on 11 March 2011. A large amount of radioactive material was released into the atmosphere from the three damaged cores and 80% of it was deposited into the ocean. Radioactive materials also discharged directly into the ocean as leaked stagnant water from the reactor housing. River runoff and groundwater discharge can also be considered as minor sources of the FDNPS-derived radioactivity in the ocean.

Type
Chapter
Information
Environmental Contamination from the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
Dispersion, Monitoring, Mitigation and Lessons Learned
, pp. 128 - 166
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aono, T., Ito, Y., Sohtome, T., et al. (2014). Observation of radionuclides in marine biota off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture after TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident. In Takahashi, S. (ed.) Radiation Monitoring and Dose Estimation of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident. New York: Springer, pp. 115–23.Google Scholar
Aoyama, M. and Hirose, K. (1995). The temporal and spatial variation of 137Cs concentration in the Western North Pacific and its marginal seas during the period from 1979 to 1988. J. Environ. Radioact., 29, 5774.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aoyama, M., Hirose, K., Miyao, T. and Igarashi, Y. (2000). Low level Cs measurements in deep seawater samples. Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 53(1), 159–62, doi:10.1016/S0969-8043(00)00128-7.Google Scholar
Aoyama, M., Fukasawa, M., Hirose, K., et al. (2011). Cross equator transport of 137Cs from North Pacific Ocean to South Pacific Ocean (BEAGLE2003 cruises). Prog. Oceanogr., 89, 716.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aoyama, M., Tsumune, D. and Hamajima, Y. (2012a). Distribution of 137Cs and 134Cs in the North Pacific Ocean: impacts of the TEPCO Fukushima-Daiichi NPP accident. J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., 296, 535–9.Google Scholar
Aoyama, M., Tsumune, D., Uematsu, M., Kondo, F. and Hamajima, Y. (2012b). Temporal variation of 134Cs and 137Cs activities in surface water at stations along coastal line near the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident site. Japan. Geochem. J., 46, 321–5.Google Scholar
Aoyama, M., Uematsu, M., Tsumune, D. and Hamajima, Y. (2013). Surface pathway of radioactive plume of TEPCO Fukushima NPP1 released 134Cs and 137Cs. Biogeosciences, 10, 3067–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aoyama, M., Hamajima, Y., Hult, M., et al. (2016a). 134Cs and 137Cs in the North Pacific Ocean derived from the March 2011 TEPCO Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, Japan. Part one: surface pathway and vertical distributions. J. Oceanogr., 72, 5365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aoyama, M., Kajino, M., Tanaka, T. Y., et al. (2016b). 134Cs and 137Cs in the North Pacific Ocean derived from the March 2011 TEPCO Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, Japan. Part two: estimation of 134Cs and 137Cs inventories in the North Pacific Ocean. J. Oceanogr., 72, 6776.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aoyama, M., Hamajima, Y., Inomata, Y. and Oka, E. (2017). Recirculation of FNPP-1-derived radiocesium observed in winter 2015/2016 in coastal regions of Japan. Appl. Radiat. Isotopes, 126, 83–7.Google Scholar
Aoyama, M., Hamajima, Y., Inomata, Y., et al. (2018). Radiocaesium derived from the TEPCO Fukushima accident in the North Pacific Ocean: surface transport processes until 2017. J. Environ. Radioact., 189, 93102.Google Scholar
Baumann, H., Wells, R. D. J., Rooker, J. R., et al. (2015). Combining otolith microstructure and trace elemental analyses to infer the arrival of juvenile Pacific bluefin tuna in the California current ecosystem. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 72(7), 2128–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buesseler, K., Aoyama, M. and Fukasawa, M. (2011). Impacts of the Fukushima nuclear power plants on marine radioactivity. Environ. Sci. Technol., 45, 9931–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buesseler, K., Dai, M., Aoyama, M., et al. (2017). Fukushima Daiichi-derived radionuclides in the ocean: transport, fate, and impacts. Ann Rev Mar Sci, 9, 173203.Google Scholar
Chen, K. S., Crone, P., and Hsu, C. C. (2006). Reproductive biology of female Pacific bluefin tuna Thunnus orientalis from south-western North Pacific Ocean. Fisheries Science, 72(5), 985–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chino, M., Nakayama, H., Nagai, H., et al. (2011). Preliminary estimation of release amounts of 131I and 137Cs accidentally discharged from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the atmosphere. J. Nucl. Sci. Technol., 48 (7), 1129–34, doi:10.1080/18811248.2011.9711799.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Department of Food Safety, Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (2011a). Notice No. 0317 Article 3 of the Department of Food Safety, 17 March. http://bit.ly/2VsVECJ (accessed 19 September 2018).Google Scholar
Department of Food Safety, Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (2011b). New standard limits for radionuclides in foods. www.mhlw.go.jp/english/topics/2011eq/dl/new_standard.pdf (accessed 19 September 2018).Google Scholar
Estournel, C., Bosc, E., Bocquet, M., et al. (2012) Assessment of the amount of Cesium-137 released into the Pacific Ocean after the Fukushima accident and analysis of its dispersion in Japanese coastal waters. J. Geophys. Res. Oceans 117, C11.Google Scholar
Fisher, N. S., Beaugelin-Seiller, K., Hinton, T. G., et al. (2013). Evaluation of radiation doses and associated risk from the Fukushima nuclear accident to marine biota and human consumers of seafood. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 110, (26), 10670–5.Google Scholar
Fisher, N. S., Fowler, S. W. and Madigan, D. J. (2015). Perspectives and reflections on the public reaction to recent Fukushima‐related radionuclide studies and a call for enhanced training in environmental radioactivity. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 34(4), 707709.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisheries Agency (2012). Results of the inspection on radioactive materials in fisheries products. Press releases, March 2011–March, 2012. www.jfa.maff.go.jp/e/inspection/pdf/e120330_2.pdf (accessed 19 September 2018).Google Scholar
Fisheries Agency (2015). Report on the monitoring of radionuclides in fishery products. http://bit.ly/2Vp7uhd (accessed 19 September 2018).Google Scholar
Folsom, T. R., Grismore, R. and Young, D. R. (1970). Long-lived gamma-ray emitting nuclide silver-108m found in Pacific marine organisms and used for dating. Nature, 227, 941–3, doi:10.1038/227941a0CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Honda, M. C., Aono, T., Aoyama, M., et al. (2012). Dispersion of artificial caesium-134 and -137 in the western North Pacific one month after the Fukushima accident. Geochem. J., 46(1), e1e9.Google Scholar
IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) (2004). Sediment Distribution Coefficients and Concentration Factors for Biota in the Marine Environment. Vienna: IAEA.Google Scholar
Inomata, Y., Aoyama, M. and Hirose, K. (2009). Analysis of 50-y record of surface 137Cs concentrations in the global ocean using the HAM-global database. J. Environ. Monitor, 11, 116–25.Google Scholar
Inoue, M., Kofuji, H., Hamajima, Y., et al. (2012a). 134Cs and 137Cs activities in coastal seawater along northern Sanriku and Tsugaru Strait, northeastern Japan, after Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. J. Environ. Radioactiv., 111, 116–19, doi:10.1016/j-jenvrad. 2011.09.012.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Inoue, M., Kofuji, H., Nagao, S., et al. (2012b). Lateral variation of 134Cs and 137Cs concentrations in surface seawater in and around the Japan Sea after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. J. Environ. Radioactiv., 109, 4551, doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2012.01.004.Google Scholar
Ishimaru, T., Aono, T., Watanabe, Y. W., et al. (2012). Distribution and ecological transfer of radiocesium in the coastal waters of Fukushima Prefecture. 2012 spring meeting of the Oceanographic Society of Japan, Tsukuba, 27 March.Google Scholar
Ishimaru, T., Ito, Y., Otsuki, M., et al. (2016). Cesium radioactivity of plankton samples collected in the coastal waters of Fukushima Prefecture and the highly radioactive cesium-bearing particles. 2016 autumn meeting of the Oceanographic Society of Japan, Kagoshima, 13 September.Google Scholar
Itoh, T., Nitta, A. and Tsuji, S. (2003). Migration patterns of young Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) determined with archival tags. Fishery Bulletin, 101 (3), 514–34.Google Scholar
Kaeriyama, H., Ambe, D., Shimizu, Y., et al. (2013). Direct observation of 134Cs and 137Cs in surface seawater in the western and central North Pacific after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident. Biogeosciences, 10, 4287–95, doi:10.5194/bg-10-4287-2013.Google Scholar
Kaeriyama, H., Shimizu, Y., Setou, T., et al. (2016). Intrusion of Fukushima-derived radiocaesium into subsurface water due to formation of mode waters in the North Pacific. Sci. Rep., 6, 22010.Google Scholar
Kanda, J. (2013). Continuing 137Cs release to the sea from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant through 2012. Biogeosciences, 10, 6107–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kasamatsu, F. and Ishikawa, Y. (1997). Natural variation of radionuclide 137 Cs concentration in marine organisms with special reference to the effect of food habits and trophic level. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 160, 109–20.Google Scholar
Kawamura, H., Kobayashi, T., Furuno, A., et al. (2011). Preliminary numerical experiments on oceanic dispersion of 131I and 137Cs discharged into the ocean because of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster. J. Nucl. Sci. Tech., 48, 1349–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kumamoto, Y., Aoyama, M., Hamajima, Y., et al. (2014). Southward spreading of the Fukushima-derived radiocesium across the Kuroshio Extension in the North Pacific. Sci. Rep., 4, 4276.Google Scholar
Kusakabe, M., Inatomi, N., Takata, H., and Ikenoue, T. (2017). Decline in radiocesium in seafloor sediments off Fukushima and nearby prefectures. J. Oceanogr., 73(5), 529–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Madigan, D. J., Baumann, Z. and Fisher, N. S. (2012). Pacific bluefin tuna transport Fukushima-derived radionuclides from Japan to California. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 109 (24), 9483–6.Google Scholar
Madigan, D. J., Baumann, Z., Snodgrass, O. E., et al. (2013). Radiocesium in Pacific bluefin tuna Thunnus orientalis in 2012 validates new tracer technique. Environ. Sci. Technol., 47, 2287–94.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Madigan, D. J., Baumann, Z., Carlisle, A. B., et al. (2014). Reconstructing transoceanic migration patterns of Pacific bluefin tuna using a chemical tracer toolbox. Ecology, 95, 1674–83.Google Scholar
Madigan, D. J., Chiang, W.-C., Wallsgrove, N. J., et al. (2016). Intrinsic tracers reveal recent foraging ecology of giant Pacific bluefin tuna at their primary spawning grounds. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 553, 253–66.Google Scholar
Madigan, D. J., Baumann, Z., Carlisle, A. B., et al. (2017a). Isotopic insights into migration patterns of Pacific bluefin tuna in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 75, 260–70, doi: 10.1139/cjfas-2016-0504.Google Scholar
Madigan, D. J., Baumann, Z., Snodgrass, O. E., et al. (2017b). Assessing Fukushima-derived radiocesium in migratory Pacific predators. Environ. Sci. Technol., 51, 8962–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Matsumoto, A., Shigeoka, Y., Arakawa, H., et al. (2015). Biological half-life of radioactive cesium in Japanese rockfish contaminated by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. J. Environ. Radioact., 150, 6874, doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2015.08.003.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masumoto, Y., Miyazawa, Y., Tsumune, D., et al. (2012). Oceanic dispersion simulation of cesium-137 from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Elements, 8(3), 207–12.Google Scholar
MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) (1992). Radioactivity Measurement Methods No.24: ‘Pretreatment Methods of Gamma-Ray Spectrometer Samples in an Emergency Event’. Tokyo: MEXT (in Japanese).Google Scholar
MEXT (2010). Annual Report of the Marine Environmental Radioactivity Comprehensive Evaluation Project, 2009. Tokyo: MEXT (in Japanese).Google Scholar
MEXT (2012). Readings of marine soil monitoring in sea area. http://radioactivity.nsr.go.jp/en/list/260/list-1.html (accessed 19 September 2018).Google Scholar
Nagao, S. (2015) Transport behavior of radiocesium in river systems after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. Chikyukagaku (Geochemistry), 49, 217–26 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Nagao, S., Kanamori, M., Ochiai, S., et al. (2013). Export of 134Cs and 137Cs in the Fukushima river systems at heavy rains by Typhoon Roke in September 2011. Biogeosci., 10, 6215–23.Google Scholar
Nagao, S., Kanamori, M., Ochiai, S., Inoue, M. and Yamamoto, M. (2015). Migration behavior of 134Cs and 137Cs in the Niida River water in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan during 2011–2012. J. Radioanalytical Nuclear Chem., 303, 1617–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nakagawa, R., Ishida, M., Baba, D., et al. (2012). Spatiotemporal distribution of radioactive cesium released from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in the sediment of Tokyo Bay, Japan. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Environmental Monitoring and Dose Estimation of Residents After Accident of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Stations. Osaka: Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute, pp. 133–6.Google Scholar
Neville, D. R., Phillips, A. J., Brodeur, R. D. and Higley, K. A. (2014). Trace levels of Fukushima disaster radionuclides in East Pacific albacore. Environ. Sci. Technol., 48(9), 4739–43.Google Scholar
Nuclear Regulation Authority (2017a). Readings of sea area monitoring. http://radioactivity.nsr.go.jp/en/list/205/list-1.html (accessed 19 September 2018).Google Scholar
Nuclear Regulation Authority, (2017b). Change of the radioactivity concentration of the sediment in off-shore sea area. http://bit.ly/2VkiGf0 (accessed 19 September 2018).Google Scholar
Ohara, T., Morino, Y. and Nishizawa, M. (2011). Where and how did radioactive materials emitted to the air from Fukushima nuclear power plant deposit?. Kagaku, 81(12), 1254–8. (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Radioactive Waste Management Center (1996). Concentration Factors of Radionuclides in the Marine Organisms. Tokyo: Radioactive Waste Management Center (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Science Council of Japan (2014). A Review of the Model Comparison of Transportation and Deposition of Radioactive Materials Released to the Environment as a Result of the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident. Tokyo: Science Council of Japan. www.scj.go.jp/en/report/index.html.Google Scholar
Smith, J. N., Brown, R. M., Williams, W. J., et al. (2015). Arrival of the Fukushima radioactivity plume in North American continental waters. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 112, 1310–15.Google Scholar
Sohtome, T., Wada, T., Mizuno, T., et al. (2014). Radiological impact of TEPCO’s Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident on invertebrates in the coastal benthic food web. J. Environ. Radioact., 138, 106–15, doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2014.08.008.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Takata, H., Aono, T., Tagami, K. and Uchida, S. (2010a). Sediment–water distribution coefficients of stable elements in four estuarine areas in Japan. J. Nuclear Sci. Tech., 47(1), 111–22, doi:10.3327/jnst.47.111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Takata, H., Aono, T., Tagami, K. and Uchida, S. (2010b). Concentration ratios of stable elements for selected biota in Japanese estuarine areas. Radiat. Environ. Biophys., 49(4), 591601, doi:10.1007/s00411-010-0317-x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
TEPCO (2011a). Past Measurement Result by Seawater Radiation Monitor near Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Archives, www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/index2-e.html (accessed 19 September 2018)Google Scholar
TEPCO (2011b). Out flow of fluid containing radioactive materials to the ocean from areas near intake channel of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 (continued report). Press release, 5 April. www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11040506-e.html (accessed 19 September 2018).Google Scholar
TEPCO (2011c). Submission of a report to Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, on the tsunami investigation at Fukushima Daiichi and Daini Atomic Power Plants. Press release, 8 July. www.tepco.co.jp/cc/press/11070802-j.html (accessed 19 September 2018) (in Japanese).Google Scholar
TEPCO (2012). Results of radionuclide analysis of marine organisms within the 20-km zone of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, September 28. http://bit.ly/2VqDMIu (accessed 19 September 2018).Google Scholar
Tsubono, T., Misumi, K., Tsumune, D., et al. (2016). Evaluation of radioactive cesium impact from atmospheric deposition and direct release fluxes into the North Pacific from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Deep Sea Res. Part 1 Oceanogr. Res. Pap., 115, 1021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsumune, D., Tsubono, T., Aoyama, M. and Hirose, K. (2012). Distribution of oceanic 137Cs from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant simulated numerically by a regional ocean model. J. Environ. Radioact., 111, 100–8.Google Scholar
Yamashiki, Y., Onda, Y., Smith, H. G., et al. (2014). Initial flux of sediment-associated radiocesium to the ocean from the largest river impacted by Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Sci. Rep., 4, 3714.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yoshida, N. and Kanda, J. (2012). Tracking the Fukushima radionuclides. Science, 336, 1115–16.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×