title: Estimated environmental radionuclide transfer and deposition into outdoor swimming pools.
abstract: In 2011, a large radioactive discharge occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. This plant is located within a climatically temperate region where outdoor swimming pools are popular. Although it is relatively easy to decontaminate pools by refilling them with fresh water, it is difficult to maintain safe conditions given highly contaminated diurnal dust falls from the surrounding contaminated ground. Our objectives in this paper were to conduct daily radioactivity measurements, to determine the quantity of radioactive contaminants from the surrounding environment that invade outdoor pools, and to investigate the efficacy of traditional pool cleaners in removing radioactive contaminants. The depositions in the paper filterable particulates ranged from 0 to 62,5 Bq/m(2)/day, with the highest levels found in the southern Tohoku District containing Fukushima Prefecture and in the Kanto District containing Tokyo Metro. They were approximately correlated with the ground contamination. Traditional pool cleaners eliminated 99% of contaminants at the bottom of the pool, reducing the concentration to 41 Bq/m(2) after cleaning. Authors recommended the deposition or the blown radionuclides into outdoor swimming pools must be considered into pool regulations when the environments exactly polluted with radionuclides.
authors.affiliation: Sports Health Laboratory, Institute of Health and Sports Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8574, Japan. Electronic address: tagk@taiiku.tsukuba.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kazumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tagami
authors.affiliation: Startech, Hongodai 4-38-15, Sakae-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 247-0008, Japan.
authors.forename: Izumi
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nagata
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8571, Japan.
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sueki
mesh_terms: D003666:Decontamination; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D007564:Japan; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D011835:Radiation Protection; D013551:Swimming Pools / Q000592:standards; D014041:Tokyo; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D014878:Water Pollution, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis* / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive
keywords: Contamination; Radionuclide; Swimming; Trap; Water