Analysis of the environmental fate of radiocesium adsorbed to soil particles in the Abukuma river basin using water quality model

Abstract

To evaluate the environmental fate of radiocesium, it is necessary to predict transport of soil particles in rainfall-runoff process. The behaviors of radiocesium adsorbed to eroded soil particles in the Abukuma river basin, located 30-100 km west of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, were analyzed by a water quality model. Calculation of lateral inflow load was performed in two cases: one using L-Q equation and the other using Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). Results show that 137Cs transported to the ocean in a period from August 10, 2011 to May 11, 2012 was 4070 GBq and 8160 GBq in the cases with L-Q equation and USLE, respectively.