Sunflower Planting Hardly Did Anything to Reduce Radioactive Cesium in Soil

Well, it sure looked pretty, a field of sunflowers, but if the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is to be believed, it did not do much more than looking pretty, and creating radioactive sunflowers that'll have to be somehow safety disposed as nuclear waste.

Sunflower seeds were planted in many, many areas within the 20-kilometer radius exclusion zone. Who is going to dispose these nuclear waste, and how?

From Asahi Shinbun (9/14/2011):

放射性物質によって汚れた農地をどのように除染するのが効果的かを福島県内で検証してきた農林水産省は１４日、これまでの結果を発表した。表土を削り取る方法が有効と確認できた一方、ヒマワリを植えて放射性セシウムを吸い上げる方法には、ほとんど効果がないことがわかった。

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced the result of its study in Fukushima Prefecture on the effectiveness of various method of decontamination of the farmland that have been contaminated with radioactive materials. While it was confirmed that scraping off the surface soil was effective, planting sunflowers to absorb radioactive cesium proved to be hardly effective at all.

　農水省は５月下旬から、東京電力福島第一原発に近い飯舘村と川俣町の６カ所の田畑を使い、除染方法を実証実験してきた。

The Ministry has been experimenting on the decontamination methods since late May, using 6 locations in Iitate-mura and Kawamata-machi, which are close to Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

　表土を削る方法のうち、最も効果が大きかったのは、根の浅い牧草ごと約３センチはぎ取る方法。セシウムの減少率は９７％と高かった。ふつうに表土を削り取る場合は深さ約４センチで７５％の減少。化学物質の固化剤を使って表土を固めてから削ると８２％減と、より効果が上がった。

Of different methods to scrape off the surface soil, the most effective was scraping about 3 centimeters with the shallow-rooted grass. This method decreased radioactive cesium by 97%. Scraping the soil alone about 4 centimeters achieved 75% reduction. If the surface soil was treated with solidifying agent before being scraped, the reduction was 82%.

　水田に水をはって耕し、排水する方法は３６％の減少率。田畑を３０～６０センチの深さで掘って表土と入れ替えるのも放射線量を半減させる効果があった。

Filling the rice paddies with water, then tilling and stirring the soil and draining the water reduced radioactive cesium by 36%. Digging the field 30 to 60 centimeter deep and burying the surface soil was also effective in reducing the radiation level in half.

　一方、ヒマワリが土壌から吸い上げる量は土のセシウム濃度の２千分の１にとどまった。農水省は「ほかに吸収量の高い植物の候補もない。現実的には除染には使えない」とした。

On the other hand, the amount of cesium that sunflowers absorbed from the soil was only one-2000th of the density of radioactive cesium in the soil. The Ministry concluded that "there is no other candidate that has higher absorption ratio. Practically speaking, sunflowers are not effective in decontamination".

　これらの結果を踏まえたうえで、農水省は土壌の汚染度合いに応じた除染の考え方を示した。

Based on the result, the Ministry disclosed its ideas of decontamination based on the density of radioactive materials in the soil.

　イネの作付け制限がかかる土１キロあたり５千ベクレル以上の福島県内の農地は推計で８３００ヘクタール。実験の結果から、作付け可能な５千ベクレル未満まで下げるには、１万ベクレルを超す田畑では表土を削る方法以外は難しいことがわかった。５千～１万ベクレルの範囲でもほかの手法を使える場所は限られるという。

The farmland whose radioactive materials in the soil would exceed 5,000 becquerels/kg (limit above which the planting of rice is prohibited) is estimated to be 8,300 hectares [about 20,500 acres]. From the result of the experiments, in case of the farmland whose radioactive material density exceeds 10,000 becquerels/kg, it may be difficult to reduce the level down below 5,000 becquerels/kg unless the surface soil is removed. Between 5,000 and 10,000 becquerels/kg, there may not be other choices but removing the surface soil.

　仮に８３００ヘクタールすべてを削った場合に発生する土は３００万トンを超す。同省は「土からセシウムだけを除去する技術開発に取り組み、土をできるだけ戻せるようにしたい」と話している。（井上恵一朗）

If the surface soil is removed in 8,300 hectares, the amount of contaminated soil generated would exceed 3 million tonnes. The Ministry says it hopes to develop a technology to remove cesium from the soil so that the soil can be put back in the field. (reported by Keiichiro Inoue)

What about plutonium and strontium? Cobalt-60?

Isn't removing the surface soil what Russia/Ukraine/Beralus have done and to very little effect? The fresh supply of radioactive cesium and other nuclides come down from the mountains. What about decontaminating the mountains?

Impossible.

I wouldn't call Iitate-mura and Kawamata-machi "close to Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant". They are more than 35 kilometers away. The reporter should have said "close enough for the government researchers to go anywhere near the plant".

By the way, as one refugee from Iitate-mura strongly hints in his tweets, Iitate-mura's political leaders seem in excellent terms with the national government and government-connected contractors keen on getting "decon" jobs. After all, 200 billion yen (US$2.6 billion) is to be spent on this village of 6,000 people alone so that the villagers can come home in 2 years.

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#Radiation in Japan: Tsukuba City's Idea of Voluntary "Decontamination"

Shorts, short-sleeve T-shirts, no masks, sneakers, with small kids. (In other words, all the things you should never do.)

As "decontamination" is set to become a new bubble for Fukushima Prefecture if not for entire Japan, the national government strongly encourage citizen volunteers to "decontaminate" their own neighborhood.

So, one elementary school in Tsukuba City in Ibaraki Prefecture called on the parents to do the "decontamination" of the school yard on September 9, and Ibaraki City proudly posted the photographs of the occasion on its webpage.

Except... oops one of the photos showed the presence of small children. It was supposed to be done by adult volunteers only, for the safety for the kids. People started to question the wisdom of "decon" with children, so the city quietly substituted the photo with the one without any children in it.

What were these parents thinking? Well I guess they couldn't secure babysitters. Or they thought this was some kind of family fun activity. Probably the answer was that they weren't thinking.

Professor Hayakawa of Gunma Prefecture (of radiation contour map fame) is one of those people who happened to capture the photo before Tsukuba deleted from its site:

Not only you see children, but the parents are seen in shorts, T-shirts, no masks, no protective gear. They have rakes, shovels and brooms as tools. Tsukuba City's webpage shows houses right next to the school yard. (I bet they were not too happy to see the dust flying up from the operation.)

The website of this particular school proudly announces the radiation level decreased by 0.002 to 0.01 microsievert/hour for the school yard. The radiation level dropped by two-third in ditches and under the rain gutters by removing the dirt.

Why did the school do this nearly useless "decontamination" which hardly reduced the radiation level except under the gutters and in the ditches? Probably to "alleviate fear and anxiety" among parents, as every single politician and bureaucrat in Japan spouts these days. Now the school is all set for its annual autumn school athletic meet.

It's all in your head, they say.

I still occasionally see some tweets by people from high radiation areas saying "We'll adapt to high radiation quickly, won't we? After all, there are locations in the world with 10 millisieverts/year radiation!" Well, according to Dr. Alexey Yablokov (link is PDF file), it takes about 20 generations or 400 years for people to become less sensitive to radiation effect.

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Japan's Idea of Decontamination: Give Manual to Citizens and Let Them Do It

So the vast tract of East Japan has been contaminated with radioactive materials that came out of nuclear fuel rods that were melted down (and through and possibly out), and many areas are more contaminated than the radiation control area of a nuclear power plant which requires strict control and decontamination by nuclear professionals in case of an accident.



So what have the affected municipalities done? Fukushima Prefecture already has a handbook for citizens on how to decontaminate. The national government has promised it will come up with a plan. (It reminds me of "Blackadder" - where Baldrick always say to Blackadder at the very last moment, "I have a cunning plan ..." which is not cunning and usually very bad or useless or both to say the least.)



That national plan may be something like the one that has been apparently released by the Japanese Society of Radiation Safety Management, and it relies on the citizens' effort to locate the high radiation "hot spots" and decontaminate using the household cleaning tools and materials, as if radioactive cesium and strontium and plutonium and cobalt should be no different from dirt and rust.



One great thing about this citizen decon idea is that it won't cost much at all to the national government, other than some support money given to neighborhood associations.



Asahi Shinbun (8/31/2011) reports:

個人の住宅周辺で特に放射線量が高い「ホットスポット」の見つけ方と、効果的な除染法について、日本放射線安全管理学会がマニュアルをまとめた。雨どいの下など、放射性物質が集まりやすい場所を紹介。放射性物質が飛散しない除染法なども説明している。



The Japanese Society of Radiation Safety Management has created a manual on how to find "hot spots" in and around one's home and how to decontaminate effectively. The manual shows the locations where radioactive materials tend to accumulate, such as under the rain gutters, and explains the methods of decontamination that do not spread radioactive materials.



　ホットスポットは、雨どい▽側溝▽排水溝▽マンホール周辺▽水たまりの乾燥跡▽さびた鉄材▽切り株や木材▽草木やこけの表面▽枯れ葉や土がたまった場所――などに多く見つかる。



[According to the manual,] hot spots are often found at rain gutters, side drains, manholes, locations where there were water puddles, rusted metals, tree stumps and lumber, surface of grass, trees and moss, pile of fallen leaves and dirt.



　雨どいや屋根の材質がさびたトタンや凹凸が激しい瓦の場合、セシウムが吸着しやすい。ちりや枯れ葉を掃除して集めると、線量が数十倍になることもある。



Cesium tends to adhere to the rain gutters, rusted tin roofs, and roofing tiles with uneven surface. If one sweeps dust and fallen leaves and collect them, the radiation level may jump significantly.



　家庭菜園で、３月中旬～下旬以降に枯れ葉などですき込み作業をした場合は、作物への放射性物質の移行に注意が必要という。



If dead leaves were plowed into the home garden after mid March, one should be aware that radioactive materials may have moved to the plants.



　屋根や雨どいを除染する場合はブラシを用い、汚れが落ちにくい場合は重曹水や酢を２～３倍に薄めた水を少しかけてこする。さびた部分は、オレンジクリーナーやクレンザーなどを使うと効果的だという。



According to the manual, one should use a brush to decontaminate the roof and rain gutters. If the dirt doesn't come off easily, one may wet the surface a little with water with baking soda or with vinegar and scrub. Cleanser is effective on rusty parts.

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#Radiation in Japan: Government Believes Radiation Level Will Drop by 40% in 2 Years

even if they don't do any decontamination.



Well I guess they don't buy the argument of Russian scientists about the "ecological half life" of radioactive cesium in Chernobyl area being 62 to 420 years.



From Mainichi Shinbun (6:48PM JST 8/24/2011):

政府の原子力災害対策本部は２４日、東京電力福島第１原発周辺の今後の放射線量を予測する考え方や計算方法を原子力安全委員会に報告、了承された。安全委によると、原発周辺の田畑では除染をしなくても、２年後に線量が約４割減少する試算結果になるという。政府は周辺の除染について２６日に基本方針を決めるが、今回の試算を参考にするという。



The Nuclear Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters of the Japanese government reported its plans on how to predict the future radiation levels in the area around Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant to the Nuclear Safety Commission on August 24, and the Commission approved. According to the NSC, in the fields around the plant, the calculation shows the radiation will decrease by 40% in two years even without decontamination. The national government will determine its basic policy on decontamination of the area around the plant, and this calculation will be used as a guide.



　対策本部は、周辺で検出される放射性物質のうち、影響が残るセシウム１３４と１３７を重視。過去の核実験などで国内の田畑に蓄積したセシウムに関する研究に基づき試算した。放射性物質が半分になる「半減期」が約３０年のセシウム１３７は、雨などによる拡散効果を考慮すると約１８年で半分になる。半減期が短く現在は検出されていない放射性ヨウ素や、線量への寄与が小さい放射性ストロンチウムは考慮しないとした。



The Countermeasures Headquarters focused on cesium-134 and cesium-134 among all the radioactive materials being detected around the plant, because they have longer-lasting effects. The calculation was based on radioactive cesium deposited in the fields from the past nuclear tests. Cesium-137, whose half life is about 30 years, would be half in 18 years considering the effect of dispersion by rain. Radioactive iodine whose half life is short and currently is not detected, and radioactive strontium which has little impact on the radiation level are not to be considered.

If they have decided to ignore strontium, it's safe to assume they have also decided to ignore plutonium or any other alpha and beta emitters. When they say radiation, it most likely means "air radiation".



Mainichi Shinbun also reports on the "Fukushima decontamination task force" set up by the national government. (Note that it's only for Fukushima Prefecture.) The key members of this task force are: the Ministry of the Environment, the cabinet office, and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) which is governed by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.



According to Mainichi, this powerful trio doesn't even know how to do decontamination yet. The trio is going to figure that out by experimenting in the area with relatively high radiation (e.g. Date City in Fukushima) to establish the official decontamination procedure and advise the municipalities.



Now I'm beginning to think that the regulatory agency for the nuclear industry being moved to the Ministry of the Environment was for a very good reason but not the government's stated reason of minimizing the collusion between the nuke industry and the regulators. The Ministry of the Environment has made it sound like it resents having to have the nuclear regulatory agency under the ministry. Au contraire, I think.



Here's the big chance for the minor ministry like the Ministry of the Environment to become a major player by leading the effort on decontamination, which is what the government has clearly decided to promote big time. The Ministry already has its vested interest group - the waste management industry which is going to play a very, very big role in the "cleanup" of 30 years or so worth of debris with varying degrees of radioactive contamination in Tohoku area. The Ministry has its own set of "experts" who will advise on decontamination and cleanup.



If anyone has accumulated a workable decontamination plan and method, that would be the Radioisotope Center of Tokyo University under Professor Kodama. But no, the national government has its own ideas, and the JAEA, of Monju notoriety, will be in charge.

More about → #Radiation in Japan: Government Believes Radiation Level Will Drop by 40% in 2 Years

Minami Soma City Embarks on Decontamination on its Own, But Where Will The Radioactive Dirt Go?

Minami Soma City, where the mayor of the town went on Youtube a few days after the March 11 earthquake and pleaded for food and water, has started to decontaminate the city on its own without the national or prefectural government assistance.



From Yomiuri Shinbun (8/8/2011):

東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の事故を受け、福島県南相馬市が、警戒区域を除いた市内全域で実施する放射性物質の除染作業が８日、同市鹿島区の市立鹿島小学校などで本格的に始まった。



On August 8, Minami Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture started the decontamination effort to remove radioactive materials released from the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident. The decontamination will be carried out city-wide except for the no-entry zone. The decontamination work started on August 8 at Kashima Elementary School in Kashima district of the city.

　市内全域の除染は、原発から２０キロ以遠の緊急時避難準備区域の解除に向け、放射線量を下げるのが狙い。小中学校や幼稚園では、校庭の表土を削ったり、校舎の壁や屋上を高圧洗浄機を使って洗い流したりする作業を計画している。

The goal of the city-wide decontamination is to lower the radiation level in anticipation for the elimination of the emergency evacuation-ready zone. The surface soil of the school yards at elementary and junior high schools and kindergartens will be removed, and the walls and the roofs of the school buildings will be washed, using the pressure washers.

　鹿島小学校では、この日午前８時から市内の建設業者が重機３台を使って校庭の表土を約５センチ削り取る作業を開始。削った土は、校庭に掘った穴に 埋める。同市は、当面の除染にかかる費用９億６０００万円を今年度補正予算に組み込み、８～９月を強化月間としている。公立の小中学校と幼稚園、保育園、 児童館など、９月末までに警戒区域を除く市内３５施設で順次実施する予定。

At Kashima Elementary School, a construction company in the city started to remove about 5 centimeters of the surface soil in the school yard, using 3 power shovels. The removed soil will be buried in a hole that has been dug in the yard. The city has allocated 900 million yen (US$11.6 million/8.17 million euro) in the supplementary budget for this fiscal year, and designated August and September as "Decontamination month". By the end of September, the city plans to carry out decontamination at all 35 public elementary and junior high schools, kindergartens, nursery schools, and children's centers except for those located inside the no-entry zone.

(Private kindergartens and nursery schools are not included?)



Minami Soma City has everything - planned evacuation zone, emergency evacuation-ready zone (these two are about to be phased out), no-entry zone. The city has already send the notice to residents who have evacuated from the city to return.



I have my doubts about Minami Soma's decontamination efforts, and here are some of them:



First, where will the radioactive dirt and sludge go? If Fukushima City is any indication, it will be "temporarily" buried in somebody's backyard without that somebody being notified. Burying in the hole in the school yard cannot be the permanent solution.



Second, how low will the radiation go? Again, if Fukushima City's result, and Minami Soma's very own result, is any indication, the radiation may go down by half. But then what? Having the air radiation level from 2 microsieverts/hour to 1 microsieverts/hour for example may be great on paper, but it is far from the level Minami Soma residents with small children should feel safe returning to the city.



Third, as Professor Kodama said, to turn radiation contamination in one number - air radiation in microsievert/hour - misses the real picture of contamination. Iodine goes to thyroid, cesium goes to bladder, strontium goes to the bone. Even for the internal radiation, the effective dose for the entire body may not mean much.



And lastly, who is going to train the ordinary residents into part-time radiation workers? Professor Kodama's Radioisotope Center is supposedly helping Minami Soma City, but if you look at the decontamination manual issued by Minami Soma, it is no different than what Fukushima Prefecture has issued for residents. Not much protection beyond masks and gloves to deal with radiation.



Without the bigger, systematic plan that includes the final processing and disposal of radioactive materials, any decontamination effort may simply displace radiation from one place to another.

More about → Minami Soma City Embarks on Decontamination on its Own, But Where Will The Radioactive Dirt Go?

(Part 3) Professor Tatsuhiko Kodama of Tokyo University Tells the Politicians: "What Are You Doing?"

(Part 1, Part 2; there are also the video in 2 parts with English subtitle, French text translation, and the video in 2 parts with German subtitle. Go to this post for the links.)

Testimony by Professor Tatsuhiko Kodama of Tokyo University continues. He goes back to Minami Soma City where his Radioisotope Center has been helping to decontaminate.

We at the Radioisotope Center of Tokyo University have been helping to decontaminate Minami-Soma City, sending about 4 people at a time and doing decontamination work for the length of 700km per week.

Again, what's happening to Minami-Soma clearly shows that 20 or 30 kilometer radius [from the nuke plant] doesn't make any sense at all. You have to measure in more detail like measuring each nursery school.

Right now, from the 20 to 30 kilometer radius area, 1,700 school children are put on the buses to go to school. Actually in Minami-Soma, the center of the city is located near the ocean, and 70% of the schools have relatively low level of radiation. Yet, children are forced to get on the school buses to go all the way to schools near Iitate-mura [where radiation is higher], spending 1 million yen everyday for the busing.

I strongly demand that this situation be terminated as soon as possible.

What's most problematic is the government's policy that they will compensate the residents for the moving cost only if their areas are designated as official evacuation zones. In a recent committee held at the House of Councilors [Upper House], President Shimizu of TEPCO and Mr. Kaieda, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry answered that way. I ask you to separate the two immediately - compensation criteria issue and children's safety issue.

I strongly ask you to do whatever you can to protect the children.

Another thing is, what I strongly feel when I'm doing the decontamination work in Fukushima is that emergency decontamination and permanent decontamination should be dealt with separately.

We've been doing a lot of emergency decontamination work. For example, if you look at this diagram, you will notice that the bottom of this slide is where small children put their hands on. Every time the rain streams down the slide, more radioactive materials accumulate. There can be a difference in radiation level between the right side and the left side. If such difference occurs and if the average radiation of the slide is 1 microsievert, then one side can measure as high as 10 microsieverts. We should do more emergency decontamination work in such places.

The ground right under the roof gutter is also where children frequently put their hands on. If you use high pressure washer you can reduce the radiation level from 2 microsieverts to 0.5 microsievert.

However, it is extremely difficult to lower the level to less than 0.5microsievert, because everything is contaminated. Buildings, trees, whole areas. You can lower radiation dose of one place, but very difficult to do that for the whole area.

Then, how much will it cost when you seriously do the decontamination work? In case of "Itai-Itai Disease" caused by cadmium poisoning, to decontaminate half of cadmium-contaminated area of roughly 3,000 hectare, the government has spent 800 billion yen so far.

How much money will be needed if we have to decontaminate the area 1,000 times as big?

Finally, Professor Kodama has 4 demands, although probably due to the time constraint he was able to elaborate only three:

So, I'd like to make four urgent requests.

First, I request that the Japanese government, as a national policy, innovate the way to measure radiation of food, soil, and water, through using the Japan's state-of-the-art technology such as semiconductor imaging detectors. This is absolutely within Japan's current technological capability.

Second, I request that the government enact a new law as soon as possible in order to reduce children's radiation exposure. Right now, what I'm doing is all illegal.
The current "Radiation Damage Prevention Law" specifies the amount of radiation and the types of radionuclides that each institution can handle. Now Tokyo University is mobilizing its workforce in its twenty-seven Radioisotope Centers to help decontaminate Minami-Soma City, but many of the centers don't have a permission to handle cesium. It's illegal to transport it by cars. However, we cannot leave highly radioactive materials to mothers and teachers there, so we put them all in drums and bring them back to Tokyo. To receive them is illegal. Everything is illegal.

The Diet is to blame for leaving such situations as they are. There are many institutions in Japan, such as Radioisotope Centers at national universities, which have germanium detectors and other state-of-the-art detectors. But how can we, as the nation, protect our children if these institutions' hands are tied? This is the result of the gross negligence by the Diet.

Third, I request that the government as a national policy mobilize technological power of the private sector in order to decontaminate the soil. There are many companies with expertise of radiation decontamination; chemical companies such as Toray and Kurita, decontamination companies such as Chiyoda Technol and Atox, and
construction companies such as Takenaka Corporation. Please mobilize their power to create a decontamination research center in Fukushima as soon as possible.

It will take tens of trillions of yen to do the decontamination work. I'm gravely concerned that it might become public works project involving concessions. [In other words, business as usual in Japan where only the businesses and politicians benefit.]

We don't have the luxury to spare a single second considering the financial condition of the Japanese government. We must figure out how we really do the decontamination work.

What on earth is the Diet doing, when 70,000 people are forced out of their homes and wandering?

That's all. Thank you.

(h/t Tokyo Brown Tabby for translating Part 3.)

More about → (Part 3) Professor Tatsuhiko Kodama of Tokyo University Tells the Politicians: "What Are You Doing?"