Practical advice on monitoring of U and Pu with marine bivalve mollusks near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Zuykov, Michael; Fowler, Scott W.; Archambault, Philippe; Spiers, Graeme; Schindler, Michael

Practical advice on monitoring of U and Pu with marine bivalve mollusks near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

2020

Zuykov, Michael | Fowler, Scott W. | Archambault, Philippe | Spiers, Graeme | Schindler, Michael

Following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in 2011, some marine radionuclide monitoring studies report a lack of evidence for contamination of Japanese coastal waters by U and Pu, or state that marine contamination by them was negligible. Nevertheless, Fukushima-derived U and Pu were reported as associated with Cs-rich microparticles (CsMPs) found in local soil, vegetation, and river/lake sediments. Over time, CsMPs can be transported to the sea via riverine runoff where actinides, as expected, will leach. We recommend establishing a long-term monitoring of U and Pu in the nearshore area of the Fukushima Prefecture using marine bivalve mollusks; shells, byssal threads and soft tissues should all be analyzed. Here, based on results from Th biosorption experiments, we propose that U and Pu could be present at concentrations several times higher in shells with a completely destroyed external shell layer (periostracum) than in shells with intact periostracum.

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