Radiation Monitoring and Dose Estimation of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

222 Pages·2014·6.94 MB·English

by  Sentaro Takahashi (eds.)

Sentaro Takahashi Editor
Radiation
Monitoring and
Dose Estimation
of the Fukushima
Nuclear Accident
Radiation Monitoring and Dose Estimation
of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

Sentaro Takahashi
Editor
Radiation Monitoring
and Dose Estimation
of the Fukushima
Nuclear Accident
Editor
Sentaro Takahashi
Research Reactor Institute
Kyoto University
Sennan-gun, Osaka, Japan
ISBN 978-4-431-54582-8 ISBN 978-4-431-54583-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-54583-5
Springer Tokyo Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
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Foreword I
On March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake and the resultant tsunami struck the
Tohoku area of Japan, causing serious damage to TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Power Plant and the release of a signifi cant quantity of radionuclides into
the surrounding environment. This accident underlined the necessity of establishing
more comprehensive scientifi c research for promoting safety in nuclear technology.
In this situation, the Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute (KURRI) estab-
lished a new research program called the “KUR Research Program for Scientifi c
Basis of Nuclear Safety” in 2012.
In nuclear safety study in our country, study of the prevention of nuclear acci-
dents might have been encouraged and action might have been lacking to measure
nuclear safety from a wider point of view, including the safety measures after the
accident or ensuring the safety of residents. A long time is needed for the improve-
ment of the situation, but the social needs for the reinforcement of nuclear safety are
considered to increase rapidly. Among the social needs, the advancement of disaster
prevention technology for natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis, the
reinforcement of measures for the infl uence of accidents, and the reinforcement of
the safety management of spent fuels and radioactive wastes are demanded, not to
mention the reinforcement of nuclear reactor safety. Also demanded are the under-
lying mechanism investigation and accurate assessment for the effect of radiation on
the human body and life. As with all premises, detailed inspection and analysis of
the cause of the accident, various factors that created the damage serious, and the
resulting infl uence and damage are indispensable.
In the Research Program for the Scientifi c Basis of Nuclear Safety, an annual
series of international symposia was planned along with specifi c research activities.
The fi rst in the series of symposia, entitled “The International Symposium on
Environmental Monitoring and Dose Estimation of Residents After Accident of
TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Stations,” was held on December 14,
2012, concerning the radiological effects of the accident on the public. The purpose
of the symposium was to collate data on environmental radioactivity and the
v
vi Foreword I
radiation dose on residents, to discuss and verify the data, and to clarify the actual
situation of environmental contamination and resultant radiation exposure to resi-
dents. The second is planned to be held on November 28, 2013, with the title of
“International Symposium on Nuclear Back-end Issues and the Role of Nuclear
Transmutation Technology after the Accident of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Power Stations.”
T his book is edited, and some chapters are written, by the members of the KUR
Research Program for Scientifi c Basis of Nuclear Safety. It is expected to contribute
to better understanding of the impact of the accident.
O n behalf of KURRI, I wish to thank all the contributors to this publication as
well as the reviewers who kindly made great efforts to check the scientifi c accuracy
of the manuscript. KURRI also hopes that this publication will promote further
progress in nuclear safety research and will contribute to the faster recovery of the
people who have suffered damage from the accident.
Kyoto , Japan Hirotake Moriyama
Foreword II
It is inevitable that major disasters such as the nuclear accident at the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011, which followed an earthquake and a
tsunami, have major impacts on society. These impacts cover many dimensions,
such as human, economic, and societal. The h uman dimension can include the loss
of relatives and friends as well as that of wider social networks, the impairment of
individual health as well as the deterioration of the health status in the population at
large, and the restrictions of personal freedom and of the scope of individual devel-
opment; the e conomic dimension may include the loss of property and of job oppor-
tunities; and the s ocietal dimension may include the loss of public trust and the
development of desperation in a population. All these dimensions have been
observed in the population of Japan after the catastrophic events in March 2011.
T here is an ethical obligation of science to serve society and to help the people
of Japan to better understand what happened, how it happened, and why. This obli-
gation can best be fulfi lled by providing sound evidence of the impact of the acci-
dent on the population and the environment, including the related health risks and
consequences. Although this is a complex undertaking and an ambitious task, there
is no alternative. Public trust in science was lost in the aftermath of the accident.
Openness and transparency are key issues in this process to regain trust in science.
T he United Nation Scientifi c Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation
(UNSCEAR) has allocated substantial resources to develop a comprehensive and
independent assessment of the accident consequences; the report will be published
in fall of 2013. Because of the loss of infrastructure caused by the earthquake and the
tsunami, the data needed for a detailed assessment of the environmental situation and
the doses to the most exposed members of the public during the early days and weeks
after the accident were not available to full satisfaction. There was, and still is, the
need to fi ll the gaps in measurement data by model calculations and to keep the exist-
ing uncertainties of the dose and risk assessments as low as reasonably achievable.
The scientifi c community in Japan regarding radiation-related environmental
and health risks has always been at the forefront worldwide. Their scientifi c contri-
butions toward a better understanding of the current situation are indispensable.
vii
viii Foreword II
T he Kyoto University Reactor Institute (KURRI) has responded in a timely manner
to the urgent needs for scientifi c input by the establishing the “Research Program
for Scientifi c Basis of Nuclear Safety.” One of the basic features of the program is
to provide a platform for the organization of an annual series of international sym-
posia that address all relevant aspects of the accident development and of its conse-
quences along with identifi ed research activities. The fi rst of this series was
organized in December 2012; it focused on all issues related to “Environmental
monitoring and dose estimation of residents after accident of TEPCO’s Fukushima
Daiichi Nuclear Power Stations.” The research results presented during the sympo-
sium covered a wide spectrum of research activities and documented the state of our
knowledge as well as the remaining unknowns and uncertainties, particularly for the
early days and weeks after the accident. The discussion of the scientifi c presenta-
tions clearly identifi ed needs for focused scientifi c work in the years to come.
Experience from other emergencies of this nature clearly indicate that a major effort
will be needed over extended periods of time to arrive at scientifi cally sound results
that can answer the questions of the population. Two remaining key questions were
identifi ed: a better understanding of the source term to the atmosphere during the
days and weeks after the accident, and the quantifi cation of releases and the runoff
to the ocean.
This publication summarizes the fi ndings of the work presented during the sym-
posium. It contributes toward a better understanding of the overall situation. I hope
that it will also contribute to a rapid recovery for the people who have encountered
major losses and damages from the accident.
Vienna , Austria Wolfgang Weiss
Pref ace
T he nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant of the Tokyo
Electric Power Company (TEPCO), triggered by the huge earthquake and tsunami
in eastern Japan on 11 March 2011, caused serious environmental contamination by
the release of radioactive nuclides. Immediately after the accident, monitoring, sur-
veys, and research activities were initiated to estimate the levels of contamination
and to take suitable countermeasures, including evacuation, establishment of
restricted areas, and decontamination. Not only governmental organizations but
also small private groups and even individuals took part in these activities.
T he Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute organized an international
symposium entitled “Environmental monitoring and dose estimation of residents
after accident of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Stations” in December
2012. In the symposium, the results of a wide range of monitoring and dose assess-
ment activities were reported and discussed. Although the proceedings of the sym-
posium had been published, many people who were interested in this issue, including
researchers, staff members of governmental organizations, residents near the acci-
dent site, and reporters for the mass media, made strong requests for the publication
of a more comprehensive and conclusive book. Those requests have prompted us to
publish this book as quickly as possible. All the chapters in the book are based on
the latest data and fi ndings, although some of the chapters were adapted from mate-
rial initially reported at the symposium and then updated.
We invited Prof. Jun Sugimoto, a leading researcher of nuclear reactors and
severe nuclear accident, to write a technical review on the outline of the accident at
Fukushima. The reader will very easily be able to understand what occurred in the
reactor during the early days. Dr. Jiro Inaba kindly wrote a commentary review on
the radiation dose estimation. He has devoted his work to establishing a framework
of radiation dosage especially as it affects the public, including fetuses and children,
as a member of the International Commission of Radiation Protection (ICRP). His
review shows the concept of dose assessment with relationship to the actual situa-
tion in Fukushima. Following these review articles, a series of scientifi c reports
ix