scholarly journals Radiocesium contamination and estimated internal exposure doses in edible wild plants in Kawauchi Village following the Fukushima nuclear disaster

PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. e0189398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rimi Tsuchiya ◽  
Yasuyuki Taira ◽  
Makiko Orita ◽  
Yoshiko Fukushima ◽  
Yuukou Endo ◽  
...  
Author(s):  
Zhaoqing Lyu ◽  
Sani Rachman Soleman ◽  
Tomoko Fujitani ◽  
Yukiko Fujii ◽  
Manal A. M. Mahmoud ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to estimate radionuclide levels in breast milk and the transferred dose to their infants in Sendai (100 km from Fukushima), Japan after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. Radionuclide concentrations were analyzed in 101 specimens of breast milk collected in 2012. Median values for minimum detectable activities were 0.39, 0.34, 1.1, 1.89, and 17.1 Bq/kg for 137Cs, 134Cs, 131I, 110mAg, and 40K, respectively. Only radionuclides from 40K were detected. To estimate potential exposure and radiocesium dose, we assumed that the samples contained each minimum detectable activity level. The mean minimum detectable activity concentrations (standard deviation) of 137Cs and 134Cs were 0.42 (0.15) and 0.37 (0.14) Bq/kg, respectively. Means of estimated dietary intakes of 137Cs and 134Cs among infants were 0.35 (0.12) and 0.31 (0.11) Bq/day, respectively. The committed effective doses of radiocesium in infants aged 3 and 12 months via breastmilk were estimated at 5.6 (2.1) and 3.3 (1.2) μSv/year, respectively. Dietary intakes of 137Cs and 134Cs in breastfeeding mothers were back-calculated at 1.9 (0.71) and 1.7 (0.65) Bq/day, respectively. The study verified no discernible exposure to radionuclides among infants. The most conservative estimates were below the Japanese internal exposure limit of 1 mSv/year.


Author(s):  
Nobuaki Kunii ◽  
Maya Fujimura ◽  
Yukako Komasa ◽  
Akiko Kitamura ◽  
Hitoshi Sato ◽  
...  

On 11 March 2011, Japan experienced a massive earthquake and tsunami that triggered the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, resulting in the release of large amounts of cesium-134 and -137 into the atmosphere. In addition to the food radioactivity control in the markets throughout the country, radiocesium concentrations in locally grown foods were voluntarily inspected and the results were shown to the residents by the local government to raise their awareness of the internal radiation contamination risk from low knowledge in Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture. In this longitudinal study, local food products for in-home consumption were evaluated by seven different food radioactivity measuring devices in Nihonmatsu City from 2011–2017. Radiocesium was detected in local foods in Nihonmatsu City even six years after the FDNPP accident. The highest number of products tested was in 2012, with the number steadily decreasing thereafter. Most foods had contamination levels that were within the provisional regulation limits. As edible wild plants and mushrooms continue to possess high radiocesium concentrations, new trends in radioactivity in foods like seeds were discovered. This study highlights that the increased risk of radiation exposure could possibly be due to declining radiation awareness among citizens and food distributors. We recommend the continuation of food monitoring procedures at various points in the food processing line under the responsibility of the government to raise awareness for the reduction of future risks of internal exposure.


2018 ◽  
Vol 183 (4) ◽  
pp. 483-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuaki Yajima ◽  
Eunjoo Kim ◽  
Kotaro Tani ◽  
Hideo Tatsuzaki ◽  
Chunsheng Li ◽  
...  

Abstract In the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, a screening survey for thyroid internal exposure from intake of radioiodine was performed on 1080 children using handheld NaI(Tl) survey meters. This article presents the design and results of a practical exercise conducted to develop the skills of personnel who would be potentially engaged in such a survey. Participants of this exercise were asked to measure manikin heads in which point sources were installed under normal (~0.05 μSv h−1) and elevated (~0.5 μSv h−1) background conditions. The results demonstrated that the measurements were less dependent on the background radiation level, and the deviation of net signals obtained by the participants were within 10–20% for dose rates above 0.2 μSv h−1. This result suggests that dose rates can be reliably obtained above a provisional operational intervention level for the device, 0.5 μSv h−1 under a real nuclear accident situation.


Author(s):  
Young-Min Lee ◽  
Ji-Hyun Bae ◽  
Ho-Young Jung ◽  
Jae-Hyun Kim ◽  
Dong-Sik Park

2020 ◽  
Vol 119 (6) ◽  
pp. 733-745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Igarashi ◽  
Eunjoo Kim ◽  
Shozo Hashimoto ◽  
Kotaro Tani ◽  
Kazuaki Yajima ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 491 ◽  
pp. 119151
Author(s):  
Tähti Pohjanmies ◽  
Anni Jašková ◽  
Juha-Pekka Hotanen ◽  
Outi Manninen ◽  
Maija Salemaa ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Zhixin Xu ◽  
Ming Wang ◽  
Binyan Song ◽  
WenYu Hou ◽  
Chao Wang

The Fukushima nuclear disaster has raised the importance on the reliability and risk research of the spent fuel pool (SFP), including the risk of internal events, fire, external hazards and so on. From a safety point of view, the low decay heat of the spent fuel assemblies and large water inventory in the SFP has made the accident progress goes very slow, but a large number of fuel assemblies are stored inside the spent fuel pool and without containment above the SFP building, it still has an unignored risk to the safety of the nuclear power plant. In this paper, a standardized approach for performing a holistic and comprehensive evaluation approach of the SFP risk based on the probabilistic safety analysis (PSA) method has been developed, including the Level 1 SFP PSA and Level 2 SFP PSA and external hazard PSA. The research scope of SFP PSA covers internal events, internal flooding, internal fires, external hazards and new risk source-fuel route risk is also included. The research will provide the risk insight of Spent Fuel Pool operation, and can help to make recommendation for the prevention and mitigation of SFP accidents which will be applicable for the SFP configuration risk management.


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi Lin Loh ◽  
Sulfikar Amir

What happens when expertise is forced to face disasters of unprecedented scales? How is knowledge produced in critical moments when every action and decision is a matter of life and death? And how are local social networks mobilized to cope with unforeseen crisis? This paper addresses these questions by examining the emergence of disaster medicine expertise in the aftermath of Fukushima nuclear disaster that struck Japan in 2011. Studies on Fukushima’s impact have to date revolved around the suffering of Tōhoku citizens and the development of Japan’s nuclear energy industry. Acknowledging the gravity of such work, this paper offers an alternative, but equally crucial angle on the disaster: that of the medical caregiving and public health system built in response to radiation hazards resulting from the triple meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Through detailed interviews conducted with eight medical practitioners in Fukushima Prefecture, this paper analyses the significance and impact of Japan’s most recent radiation disaster on its public health infrastructure. To describe the contingent nature of radiation disaster medicine developed in response to radiation risk in Fukushima, we draw on Jasanoff’s characterization of scientific knowledge as ‘serviceable truths’ with regards to public policy and the law, suggesting that expertise in relation to disasters is usefully understood in analogous terms.


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