Factors Controlling the Dissolved 137Cs Seasonal Fluctuations in the Abukuma River Under the Influence of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Abstract

The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident released large amounts of radioactive materials into the environment. River systems play an important role in the terrestrial redistribution of FDNPP-derived 137Cs in association with water and sediment movement. We examined the seasonal fluctuations in dissolved and particulate 137Cs activity concentrations and clarified the biological and physicochemical factors controlling 137Cs seasonality in the Abukuma River's middle course in the region affected by the FDNPP accident. The results showed seasonal fluctuations in the dissolved 137Cs activity concentration, with an increase in summer and a decrease in winter, although there was no clear seasonal change in the particulate 137Cs activity concentration. Water temperature and K+ concentration dominated the seasonality of the dissolved 137Cs activity concentration. The volumetric activity concentration of the organically bound 137Cs was found to be several orders of magnitude lower than that of the dissolved 137Cs. Therefore, we concluded that the 137Cs in organic matter is not a source of dissolved 137Cs in river water. The study also revealed the temperature dependence of Kd in riverine environments from a Van't Hoff equation. The standard reaction enthalpy of 137Cs in the Abukuma River was calculated to be approximately −19.3 kJ/mol. This was the first study to clearly reveal the mechanisms by which the dissolved 137Cs activity concentration and Kd are influenced by chemical and thermodynamic processes in the middle course of a large river, and it is expected to lead to an improved model of 137Cs dynamics in rivers.