Quantitative evaluation of radioactive cesium concentration in leachate and landfill waste at a municipal waste final disposal site in Fukushima prefecture

Abstract

As a result of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, radioactive cesium was widely dispersed, and field and forest wastes, such as cut grass and trees contaminated with radioactive cesium, was buried at municipal waste final disposal sites after they were burned at incineration facilities. Radioactive cesium could be managed until the final disposal site is decommissioned, so the long-term effects of radiation and how long to manage them have become important issues for final disposal sites related persons. Therefore, in order to understand the current status of radioactive cesium concentrations at the municipal waste final disposal sites in Fukushima prefecture, the relationships between the radioactive cesium concentration in leachate and the concentration of elements such as chloride ion, sodium, and strontium in the leachate were quantitatively clarified for five municipal waste final disposal sites in Fukushima Prefecture, and based on these relationships, correlation equations were derived which can predict the present status of radioactive cesium concentration. In addition, the distributions of radioactive cesium concentration and composition ratio in the depth direction of the final disposal site were experimentally clarified by quantitative analyses for multiple landfill wastes collected at arbitrary positions up to 100 cm in depth from three different spots on the surface of the municipal waste final disposal site.

Keywords

• quantitative analysis
• radioactive material
• final disposal site
• landfill waste
• leachate
• cesium concentration
• correlation equation
• composition ratio
• depth direction