Abstract
Full-scale decontamination operations aimed at radioactive material from the March 2011 accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company, have started. Enormous amounts of contaminated soil and wastes, which are being generated as a result of performing decontamination operations, will be put into storage. The security and performance design of these storage areas, i.e. developing temporary or intermediate storage facilities, are urgent issues. Existence forms and leaching characteristics of the radioactive cesium being discharged from the soil and plants greatly influences the type of storage and management required. Understanding of existence forms and levels of radioactive cesiumin the environmental water following the Fukushima accident are extremely important if one is to fully study the long-term environmental impact of storage and management systems. This paper presents the latest findings on the leaching characteristicsand existence forms of radioactive cesiumin soil and plants. In addition, the paper outlines the existence forms and levelsof radioactive cesiumin environmental water, along with monitoringof low-level radioactive cesium found in water.
