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Factors affecting 137Cs concentrations in river water under base-flow conditions near the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant

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Abstract

To confirm factors affecting 137Cs concentration in river water after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, this study conducted monthly observations of nine rivers near the FDNPP from April 2017 to March 2018 under base-flow conditions. The annual mean dissolved and particulate 137Cs concentrations correlated well with the mean 137Cs deposition in the catchment. The normalized 137Cs concentrations in both phases by dividing by the mean 137Cs deposition in the catchment showed significant negative correlations with the 137Cs deposition ratio for forests. The inflow from the downstream plain areas increased the 137Cs concentrations near the FDNPP.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Y. Katayose, K. Osotsuka, T. Haginoya and T. Matsumoto of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) for support with the fieldwork and laboratory work. The authors would also like to thank Y. Sanada and K. Yoshimura of JAEA for providing helpful comments. Finally, the authors would also like to thank members of the Fukushima Environmental Safety Center of JAEA for their support to this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sector of Fukushima Research and Development, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 45-169 Kaihama-sukakeba, Haramachi, Minamisoma, Fukushima, 975-0036, Japan

    Takahiro Nakanishi, Hironori Funaki & Kazuyuki Sakuma

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  1. Takahiro Nakanishi
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  2. Hironori Funaki
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  3. Kazuyuki Sakuma
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TN designed the study. TN and HF conducted the survey. TN and KS provided interpretation and analysis of data. All authors wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Takahiro Nakanishi.

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Nakanishi, T., Funaki, H. & Sakuma, K. Factors affecting 137Cs concentrations in river water under base-flow conditions near the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 328, 1243–1251 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-021-07735-7

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