Land-Surface Contamination by Radionuclides from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Radionuclides, such as 134Cs, 137Cs, and 131I, were released during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in March 2011. Their distribution was monitored by airborne surveys and soil sampling. The most highly contaminated areas are to the northwest of the plant and in the Naka-dori region of Fukushima Prefecture; this contamination was mainly the result of wet deposition on March 15. Radionuclides were also released on March 21, and they were dispersed up to 200 km south of the plant. The Cs/I ratios are different for these two events, probably because of differences in the initial ratios in the airborne plumes and the amount of wet deposition. Numerical simulations of the dispersion process and vertical profiles of radionuclides in soils are used to describe the contamination of soils.