title: Detailed Distribution Map of Absorbed Dose Rate in Air in Tokatsu Area of Chiba Prefecture, Japan, Constructed by Car-Borne Survey 4 Years after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident.
abstract: A car-borne survey was carried out in the northwestern, or Tokatsu, area of Chiba Prefecture, Japan, to make a detailed distribution map of absorbed dose rate in air four years after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. This area was chosen because it was the most heavily radionuclide contaminated part of Chiba Prefecture and it neighbors metropolitan Tokyo. Measurements were performed using a 3-in × 3-in NaI(Tl) scintillation spectrometer in June 2015. The survey route covered the whole Tokatsu area which includes six cities. A heterogeneous distribution of absorbed dose rate in air was observed on the dose distribution map. Especially, higher absorbed dose rates in air exceeding 80 nGy h-1 were observed along national roads constructed using high porosity asphalt, whereas lower absorbed dose rates in air were observed along local roads constructed using low porosity asphalt. The difference between these asphalt types resulted in a heterogeneous dose distribution in the Tokatsu area. The mean of the contribution ratio of artificial radionuclides to absorbed dose rate in air measured 4 years after the accident was 29% (9-50%) in the Tokatsu area. The maximum absorbed dose rate in air, 201 nGy h-1 was observed at Kashiwa City. Radiocesium was deposited in the upper 1 cm surface layer of the high porosity asphalt which was collected in Kashiwa City and the environmental half-life of the absorbed dose rate in air was estimated to be 1.7 years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Sciences, Graduate School of Human Health Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazumasa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Sciences, Graduate School of Human Health Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Moeko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Sciences, Graduate School of Human Health Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujisawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Technology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Nihon Institute of Medical Science, Iruma-gun, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Kyouko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiological Sciences, Graduate School of Human Health Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukushi
mesh_terms: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000633:toxicity; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D006801:Humans; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D011874:Radiometry; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014041:Tokyo
chemical_list: D000396:Air Pollutants, Radioactive; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D011847:Radioactive Fallout