Study of soil particles containing radioactive cesium in paddy field soil using an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and autoradiogram method.

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident in 2011 caused the widespread contamination of Fukushima Prefecture by radioactive cesium. The cesium radioisotopes are considered to have remained in the soil for seven years. We investigated this situation by analyzing soil from paddy fields in the area. We investigated the structure of soil particles using scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDS) and autoradiogram (ARG). We estimated the percentage of clay in the soil based on its composition, and then obtained the radioactivity of the cesium radioisotopes for each soil particle size as a function of penetration. The cesium radioisotopes were exponentially distributed in soil containing a large proportion of clay. Hence, we confirmed that the quantity of clay in the soil is a very important factor with respect to the possibility of the resumption of agriculture in the restricted area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]