Discriminative Measurement of Absorbed Dose Rates in Air from Natural and Artificial Radionuclides in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture

Koya Ogura, Masahiro Hosoda, Yuki Tamakuma, Takahito Suzuki, Ryohei Yamada, Ryoju Negami, Takakiyo Tsujiguchi, Masaru Yamaguchi, Yoshitaka Shiroma, Kazuki Iwaoka, Naofumi Akata, Mayumi Shimizu, Ikuo Kashiwakura and Shinji Tokonami
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Koya Ogura: Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan
Masahiro Hosoda: Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan
Yuki Tamakuma: Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan
Takahito Suzuki: Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan
Ryohei Yamada: Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan
Ryoju Negami: Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan
Takakiyo Tsujiguchi: Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan
Masaru Yamaguchi: Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan
Yoshitaka Shiroma: Faculty of Education, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara-cho, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan
Kazuki Iwaoka: National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage, Chiba 263-0024, Japan
Naofumi Akata: Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan
Mayumi Shimizu: Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan
Ikuo Kashiwakura: Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan
Shinji Tokonami: Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, Hirosaki University, 66-1 Hon-cho, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8564, Japan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: Ten years have elapsed since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, and the relative contribution of natural radiation is increasing in Fukushima Prefecture due to the reduced dose of artificial radiation. In order to accurately determine the effective dose of exposure to artificial radiation, it is necessary to evaluate the effective dose of natural as well as artificial components. In this study, we measured the gamma-ray pulse-height distribution over the accessible area of Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture, and evaluated the annual effective dose of external exposure by distinguishing between natural and artificial radionuclides. The estimated median (range) of absorbed dose rates in air from artificial radionuclides as of 1 April 2020, is 133 (67–511) nGy h −1 in the evacuation order cancellation zone, and 1306 (892–2081) nGy h −1 in the difficult-to-return zone. The median annual effective doses of external exposures from natural and artificial radionuclides were found to be 0.19 and 0.40 mSv in the evacuation order cancellation zone, and 0.25 and 3.9 mSv in the difficult-to-return zone. The latest annual effective dose of external exposure discriminated into natural and artificial radionuclides is expected to be utilized for radiation risk communication.

Keywords: Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant; Namie Town; natural radionuclides; artificial radionuclides; cesium-134; cesium-137; external exposure dose evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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