A review of efforts for volume reduction of contaminated soil in the ten years after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
Journal
Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology
Journal Volume
59
Journal Issue
2
Start Page
135
End Page
147
ISSN
0022-3131
1881-1248
Date Issued
2021-10-06
Author(s)
Yamasaki, Shinya
Abstract
The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011 released many radioactive elements into the environment, contaminating a large amount of soil. Currently, 14 million m3 of contaminated soil is scheduled for interim storage, and the final disposal of the soil is planned by 2045. In the future, the decommissioning of the plant will generate a great amount of radioactive waste. Therefore, reduction of the volume of contaminated soil, which accounts for ~90% of the wastes, is a problem that needs to be addressed in parallel with the decommissioning of the plant. Since most of the radionuclides have decayed in the decade since the accident, radioactive Cs (especially 137Cs) is one element that needs to be removed from the wastes. This review summarizes the progress of volume reduction technology for soil contaminated with radioactive Cs and an understanding of the existence of radioactive Cs in the soil.
Subjects
cesium-137
interim storage
Radioactive Cs
radioactive waste
waste management
SDGs
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Type
journal article