Cesium accumulation in paddy field rice grown in fukushima from 2011 to 2013: Cultivars and fertilization

Abstract

After the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, radioactive cesium (Cs) was released and the agricultural fields in Fukushima were contaminated. It became important to obtain data for radioactive Cs accumulation in rice grown in contaminated fields. We conducted a 3-year investigation in a Fukushima paddy field of radioactive Cs concentrations in various rice cultivars, and in two commercial rice cultivars grown under four different nutrient conditions. Our studies demonstrated substantial variation in radioactive Cs concentrations among the rice cultivars, and an increase in radioactive Cs concentrations in straw and brown rice under high nitrogen and low potassium conditions. Our 3-year investigations of radioactive Cs-contaminated rice in Fukushima paddy field shows that the rice grown in Fukushima is now well-monitored and contains much less than the allowed levels of radiation (100 Bq kg-1).