Discovery of radioactive silver (^110mAg) in spiders and other fauna in the terrestrial environment after the meltdown of Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant

Abstract

Six months after the explosion of TEPCO’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, radioactive silver (^110mAg), was detected in concentrations of 3754 Bq/kg in Nephila clavata (the orb-web spider; Joro-gumo in Japanese) collected at Nimaibashi, Iitate village in Fukushima Prefecture, whereas ^110mAg in the soil was 43.1 Bq/kg. A survey of 35 faunal species in the terrestrial environment during the 3.5 years after the accident showed that most of Anthropoda had two orders higher ^110mAg in their tissues than soils, although silver is not an essential element for their life. However, tracing of the activity of ^110mAg detected in spider Atypus karschi collected regularly at a fixed location showed that it declined much faster than the physical half-life. These results suggest that ^110mAg was at once biologically concentrated by faunal species, especially Arthropoda, through food chain. The factors affecting the subsequent rapid decline of ^110mAg concentration in faunal species are discussed.