Speciation of radioactive particles in Fukushima soil Materials that fix radioactive cesium
Radioactive contamination of the soil in the Fukushima area as a result of the Fukushima nuclear disaster is one of the most serious problems in Japan but it was still uncertain what kinds of materials actually bind the radioactive cesium nuclides which are responsible for the radiation. Due to such uncertainty, research and development of effective actions for decontamination have not progressed.
© 2014 Kogure Laboratory.
Electron microscopic images of the typical radioactive particles (top) and X-ray spectra from the particles (bottom) indicating their chemical compositions. These particles have been identified as (left) weathered biotite, (center) a composite of organic matter and fine minerals and (right) an aggregate of fine minerals.
Associate Professor Kogure’s laboratory in the Graduate School of Science, the University of Tokyo and researchers in Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), and the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) have successfully identified the cesium-fixing fine particles in soil samples from Iitate, Fukushima, and determined the distribution of the radiation in these particles, mainly using a variety of electron microscopic techniques.
This research result will make a great contribution, for example, to prediction of the long-term future spread and movement of radioactive materials, finding the new recipes for soil decontamination, and the development of compaction and/or storage methods of the large amounts of waste produced by the decontamination process in the Fukushima area.
Press release (Japanese)
Paper
Hiroki Mukai, Tamao Hatta, Hideaki Kitazawa, Hirohisa Yamada, Tsuyoshi Yaita and Toshihiro Kogure,
“Speciation of radioactive soil particles in the Fukushima contaminated area by IP autoradiography and microanalyses”,
Environmental Science & Technology Online Edition: 2014/11/10 (Japan time), doi: 10.1021/es502849e.
Article link (Publication)
Links
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Graduate School of Science
Kogure Laboratory, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Graduate School of Science
