Soil radiocesium distribution in rice fields disturbed by farming process after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident Original Research Article

A magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent large tsunami hit the northeastern coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. This resulted in serious damage to the reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP), operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Company. Large amounts of radionuclides were released from the FDNPP, a proportion of which were deposited onto the ground. In this study, we investigated soil radiocesium contamination of rice fields in Aga and Minamiuonuma, Niigata, ~ 130 and 200 km away from the FDNPP, respectively, as Niigata is one of the largest rice growing regions in Japan. Soil samples were collected from the plow layer of five rice fields in August and September, 5–6 months after the FDNPP accident. Results showed that radiocesium concentrations (the sum of Cs-134 and Cs-137) in the rice soil samples were ~ 300 Bq (kg dry soil)− 1. All samples contained a Cs-134/Cs-137 activity ratio of 0.68–0.96 after correction to March 11, 2011, showing that the radiocesium released from the FDNPP were deposited on these areas. Although the rice fields had been disturbed by farming processes after the FDNPP accident, the depth distribution of radiocesium concentrations in the plow layers showed higher concentrations in the upper soil layers. This suggests that spring tillage, flooding and puddling performed before rice transplantation may not disperse radiocesium deposited on the surface through the whole plow layer. In addition, the planar distribution of radiocesium concentrations was examined near the water inlet in one of the rice fields. Highest activities were found aligned with the direction of irrigation water discharge, indicating that radioactivity levels in rice fields may be elevated by an influx of additional radionuclides, probably in irrigation water, during farming.