Agricultural Implications of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

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Agricultural Implications of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Foreword Preface Contents Chapter 1: The Overview of Our Research 1.1 Research Project 1.2 Research Site 1.3 Fallout on Soil 1.4 Fallout on Plants 1.5 Others References Chapter 2: Behavior of Radiocesium Adsorbed by the Leaves and Stems of Wheat Plant During the First Year After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Materials and Methods 2.2.1 Analysis of Radiocesium in Each Plant Part 2.2.2 Effects of the Seed Sowing Date on the Radiocesium Concentration in Grains 2.3 Results and Discussion 2.3.1 The Radiocesium Was Tightly Bound to the Leaves That Had Already Expanded During the Fallout 2.3.1.1 The Concentration of Radiocesium in Each Plant Part Sampled from the Wheat Cultivar “Kinuazuma” on May 26th, 2011 2.3.1.2 Imaging Analysis of Radionuclides in Leaves from the Wheat Cultivars “Kinuazuma,” “Yukichikara,” and “Abukumawase” Sampled on May 26th, 2011 2.3.2 The Plant Size at the Time of the Fallout in Mid-March 2011 Was the Main Factor That Affected the Radiocesium Concentration in Grains References Chapter 3: Radiocesium Absorption by Rice in Paddy Field Ecosystems 3.1 Introduction 3.2 “Seasonality” in the Radiocesium Absorption Level of Rice 3.3 Radiocesium Absorption Reflects the Features of the Paddy Field Ecosystem 3.4 Behavior of Radiocesium in Organic Matter 3.5 Can Breeding Resolve the Problem? 3.6 The Diagnosis of Radiocesium Absorption in Individual Paddy Fields References Chapter 4: Cesium Uptake in Rice: Possible Transporter, Distribution, and Variation 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Possible Transporters Involved in Cs Uptake 4.3 Cs-Specific Transporters? 4.4 Cs Distribution in Rice 4.5 Variation in Rice Cs Concentrations Among Different Cultivars 4.6 Future Perspectives References Chapter 5: Time-Course Analysis of Radiocesium Uptake and Translocation in Rice by Radioisotope Imaging 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Application of Macro RRIS for Quantification of 137Cs Signals 5.3 Uptake of 137Cs by Rice Plants from Liquid or Soil Media 5.4 Distribution Pattern of Radiocesium in Soil 5.5 Observation of the Xylem Loading Activity Using Macro RRIS 5.6 Effects of K Deficiency on the 137Cs Uptake and Xylem Loading Activity 5.7 Enhanced P Xylem Loading Activity in P-Deficient Rice Plants 5.8 Conclusion and Future Perspectives References Chapter 6: Vertical Migration of Radiocesium Fallout in Soil in Fukushima 6.1 Retardation of Cesium Migration as a Result of Fixation to Soil Solids 6.2 Cs Concentration Profile in Soil 2 Months After the Fallout 6.3 Method Used to Monitor the Cs Migration Distance in a Borehole 6.3.1 Collimator and Monitoring Pipe 6.3.2 Method for Correcting Insufficient Collimator Lead Shielding 6.3.2.1 Calculation of the Cs Migration Distance 6.4 Results and Discussion 6.5 Conclusion References Chapter 7: Radioactive Nuclides in Vegetables and Soil Resulting from Low-Level Radioactive Fallout After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident: Case Studies in Tokyo and Fukushima 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Materials and Methods 7.2.1 Vegetable and Soil Samples 7.2.2 Radioactive Nuclide Concentration Measurements 7.3 Results and Discussion 7.3.1 Concentrations of Radioactive Nuclides in Vegetables and Soil (Tokyo) 7.3.2 Concentrations of Radioactive Nuclides in Vegetables and Soil (Fukushima Prefecture) 7.4 Conclusion References Chapter 8: Radioactivity in Agricultural Products in Fukushima 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Radioactive Material Concentration in Each Type of Agricultural Product 8.3 Samples Harvested from March to June 2011 8.4 Samples Harvested from July 2011 to March 2012 8.4.1 Cereals 8.4.2 Vegetables 8.4.3 Fruit Trees 8.4.4 Other Products (Mushrooms, Meat, and Fish) 8.5 Conclusion References Chapter 9: Changes in the Transfer of Fallout Radiocaesium from Pasture Harvested in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, to Cow Milk two Months After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Experimental Procedure 9.3 Results 9.4 Discussion 9.5 Conclusion References Chapter 10: Radiocesium Contamination of Marine Fish Muscle and Its Effective Elimination 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Detection of the Tissue Distribution of Radioactive Materials in Fish Using an Imaging Plate System 10.3 Effective Elimination of Radiocesium Contamination from Fish Meat References Chapter 11: Excretion of Cesium Through Potassium Transport Pathway in the Gills of a Marine Teleost 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Osmoregulation in Teleost Fishes 11.2.1 Body Fluid Osmolality 11.2.2 Passive Ion and Water Movements in Teleosts 11.2.3 Freshwater and Seawater Adaptation 11.2.4 MR Cells 11.2.5 Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Ion Transporting Functions of MR Cells 11.2.6 Possible K+ Secretion from the Gills 11.3 K+ Secretion from MR Cells 11.3.1 Visualization of K+ Secretion from Gill MR Cells 11.3.2 Molecular Mechanism of K+ Secretion 11.3.3 Confirmation of K+ Secretion Through ROMK 11.4 Cs+ and Rb+ Secretion from MR Cells 11.4.1 Cs+ and Rb+ as Biochemical Analogs of K+ 11.4.2 Detection of Cs+ and Rb+ Excreted from the Gills 11.5 Perspectives References Chapter 12: Contamination of Wild Animals: Effects on Wildlife in High Radioactivity Areas of the Agricultural and Forest Landscape 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Landscape of the Abukuma Highlands and Its Biodiversity 12.3 The Bird Community in the Northern Abukuma Highlands 12.4 Bush Warbler and Its Contamination with Radioactivity 12.5 Effects of Radioactivity on Bush Warbler and Boar 12.6 Factors that Affected the Wildlife References Chapter 13: Remediation of Paddy Soil Contaminated by Radiocesium in Iitate Village in Fukushima Prefecture 13.1 Introduction 13.2 The “Resurrection of Fukushima” Group 13.3 Distribution of Paddy Soil Contaminated by Radiocesium in Iitate Village 13.4 Decontamination by Stripping Frozen Soil 13.5 Decontamination Method Using a Rotary Weeding Machine 13.6 Radiation Dose Reduction Method Based on Soil Cover 13.7 Environmental Monitoring in the Village 13.8 Conclusion: The Roles of Researchers in Society Appendix: Equation for Estimating the Frozen Soil Depth Based on the Air Temperature References Chapter 14: Distribution of Radiocesium from the Radioactive Fallout in Fruit Trees 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Pathways of Radiocesium Absorption by Fruit Trees 14.2.1 Uptake by Roots 14.2.1.1 Is It Possible to Estimate the Amount of Radiocesium Absorbed from the Soil by Fruit Trees in the First Year After the Nuclear Accident? 14.2.1.2 Field-Dependent Differences, After Accounting for Differences in the Cultivation Environments 14.2.2 Translocation of Radiocesium from Existing Above-Ground Plant Parts 14.2.2.1 Radiocesium Concentration in the Above-Ground Plant Parts 14.2.2.2 Translocation from the Bark 14.2.3 Translocation from New Above-Ground Plant Parts 14.3 Release of Radiocesium from Trees 14.3.1 Distribution of Radiocesium Within Peach Trees 5 Months After the Nuclear Accident 14.3.2 Release of Radiocesium from Above-Ground Tree Parts 14.3.3 The Release of Radiocesium into the Soil Through the Roots 14.4 Conclusions References Chapter 15: Mushrooms: Radioactive Contamination of Widespread Mushrooms in Japan 15.1 Introduction 15.2 High-Level Contamination 15.3 Low-Level Contamination 15.4 Relationship Between Mushroom Contamination and Radiocesium Concentration in the Fungal Substrates 15.5 Radioactive Contamination due to Nuclear Weapons Tests or the Chernobyl Accident 15.6 Conclusion and Future Perspectives References Chapter 16: Diffusion and Transportation Dynamics of 137Cs Deposited on the Forested Area in Fukushima After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident in March 2011 16.1 Introduction 16.2 Materials and Methods 16.2.1 Study Site 16.2.2 Survey 16.2.2.1 Forested Catchment 16.2.2.2 River Transect 16.2.3 Analysis 16.3 Preliminary Results and Discussion 16.3.1 137Cs Export by Hydrological Processes 16.3.2 137Cs Diffusion Through the Food Web 16.4 Future Studies References Chapter 17: Development of an Information Package of Radiation Risk in Beef After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident 17.1 Introduction 17.2 Radioactive Contamination of Beef 17.3 Research Outline 17.4 Results 17.4.1 Risk Perception, Knowledge, and Attitude 17.4.2 Effectiveness of the Information Package 17.4.3 Results of FGIs 17.5 Conclusion References