title: Evaluation of the cause of unexplained radiocaesium contamination of brown rice in Fukushima in 2013 using autoradiography and gamma-ray spectrometry.
abstract: The Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011, caused the release of radioactive materials from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP), contaminating eastern Japan, particularly in part of Fukushima Prefecture. In 2012 and 2014, the radiocaesium concentration in brown rice did not exceed regulatory levels in Minamisoma City, Fukushima. However, in 2013, some radiocaesium concentrations in brown rice exceeded regulatory levels. In this work, autoradiograms showed that high radioactivity was present as contaminated spots on the panicles of rice and in brown rice in 2013. We evaluate the contribution of direct contamination to the radiocaesium concentration in brown rice and discuss the origin of radiocaesium contamination in brown rice using the (134)Cs/(137)Cs radioactivity ratio. Here, we show that the main cause of the unexplained radiocaesium contamination of brown rice in Minamisoma City in 2013 is the adherence of radioactive materials to the rice panicles, and these radioactive materials are associated with reactor units 2 or 3 of FDNPP.
authors: Agricultural Radiation Research Center, NARO Tohoku Agricultural Research Center, Fukushima 9602156, Japan.
authors: Hisaya
authors: H
authors: Matsunami
authors: Technical Support Section 4, NARO Tohoku Agricultural Research Center, Fukushima 9602156, Japan.
authors: Toshifumi
authors: T
authors: Murakami
authors: Soil Environment Division, National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Tsukuba 3058604, Japan.
authors: Hideshi
authors: H
authors: Fujiwara
authors: Agricultural Radiation Research Center, NARO Tohoku Agricultural Research Center, Fukushima 9602156, Japan.
authors: Takuro
authors: T
authors: Shinano
mesh_terms: D001345:Autoradiography; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000737:chemistry; D005507:Food Contamination, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D007564:Japan; D012275:Oryza / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D013051:Spectrometry, Gamma
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes