Radiocesium decontamination of a riverside in Fukushima, Japan

Extensive decontamination measures have been implemented in the area affected by the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster. Typical decontamination measures, such as removing topsoil of several centimeters in depth, are not suitable for rivers where contaminated sediments have been deposited. A decontamination measure was tested that considered the spatial distribution of radiocesium at the lower part of a tributary of the Abukuma River in Fukushima. The radiocesium distribution in the flood channel was vertically and horizontally highly heterogeneous. In some parts, the activity concentration was high (>10 kBq/kg for ¹³⁷Cs) even at depths of 25 cm in the sediment. This may be due to plant growth in the flood channel favoring the deposition of sediment with high activity concentration. On the basis of the radiocesium distribution, the flood channel sediment was removed to a depth of 15–35 cm, which accumulated the most radiocesium (>3.0 kBq/kg for the sum of ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs). The upper 5 cm of soil was removed from the dike slopes. The river bed was not decontaminated because the activity concentration was low (<1 kBq/kg) in the river bed sediment and because the water shields gamma rays emitted from the sediment. The test decontamination measure reduced the air dose rate by a factor of approximately two, demonstrating the effectiveness of our measures. Annual external doses were calculated for when this part of the dike and the flood channel is used for commuting to school and outdoor education. The doses during the activities at the test site accounted for only 1–2% of the value during daily life in the surrounding area, indicating that radiation exposure during riverside activities is limited. - Highlights: • We tested a radiocesium decontamination measure for a riverside. • Vertical distribution of radiocesium was highly heterogeneous in the flood channel. • We chose an adequate depth of sediment removal in the flood channel. • Our measure reduced the air dose rate by a factor of 2.