Abstract
Concentrations of 137Cs measured in water collected from seven rivers under base-flow conditions in eastern Fukushima Prefecture in 2014 were combined with previously reported data for the same sampling points from 2012 to 2013. Dissolved 137Cs concentrations at the sampling points were strongly correlated with the 137Cs inventories of the corresponding catchment areas. The ratios of the dissolved 137Cs concentrations to the 137Cs inventories have declined exponentially since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident with an effective decreasing coefficient of 0.40 y−1 (effective half-time of 1.7 y), within the range reported in European rivers following the Chernobyl accident.
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Acknowledgments
We are grateful to H. Kakimoto and S. Takaya (Zax Co. Ltd.) for their technical help in sample pretreatment. This work was performed under a contract with the government of Aomori Prefecture, Japan.
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Ochiai, S., Ueda, S., Hasegawa, H. et al. Spatial and temporal changes of 137Cs concentrations derived from nuclear power plant accident in river waters in eastern Fukushima, Japan during 2012–2014. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 307, 2167–2172 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-015-4442-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-015-4442-5