Haruyuki Ogino

Food safety regulations: what we learned from the Fukushima nuclear accident.

On 11 March 2011, the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and a substantial tsunami struck off the northeast coast of Japan. The Fukushima nuclear power plants were inundated and stricken, followed by radionuclide releases outside the crippled reactors. Provisional regulation values for radioactivity in food and drink were set on 17 March and were adopted from the preset index values, except that for radioiodines in water and milk ingested by infants. For radiocesiums, uranium, plutonium and transuranic α emitters, index values were defined in all food and drink not to exceed a committed effective dose of 5 mSv/year. Index values for radioiodines were defined not to exceed a committed equivalent dose to the thyroid of 50 mSv/year, and set in water, milk and some vegetables, but not in other foodstuffs. Index values were calculated as radioactive concentrations of indicator radionuclides ((131)I for radioiodines, (134)Cs and (137)Cs for radiocesiums) by postulating the relative radioactive concentration of coexisting radionuclides (e.g., (132)I, (133)I, (134)I, (135)I and (132)Te for (131)I). Surveys were thence conducted to monitor levels of (131)I, (134)Cs and (137)Cs. Provisional regulation values were exceeded in tap water, raw milk and some vegetables, and restrictions on distribution and consumption began on 21 March. Fish contaminated with radioiodines at levels of concern were then detected, so that the provisional regulation value for radioiodines in seafood adopted from that in vegetables were additionally set on 5 April. Overall, restrictions started within 25 days after the first excess in each food or drink item, and maximum levels were detected in leafy vegetables (54,100 Bq/kg for (131)I, and a total of 82,000 Bq/kg for (134)Cs and (137)Cs). This paper focuses on the logic behind such food safety regulations, and discusses its underlying issues. The outlines of the food monitoring results for 24,685 samples and the enforced restrictions will also be described.

Safety regulations of food and water implemented in the first year following the Fukushima nuclear accident

An earthquake and tsunami of historic proportions caused massive damage across the northeastern coast of Japan on the afternoon of 11 March 2011, and the release of radionuclides from the stricken reactors of the Fukushima nuclear power plant 1 was detected early on the next morning. High levels of radioiodines and radiocesiums were detected in the topsoil and plants on 15 March 2011, so sampling of food and water for monitoring surveys began on 16 March 2011. On 17 March 2011, provisional regulation values for radioiodine, radiocesiums, uranium, plutonium and other transuranic α emitters were set to regulate the safety of radioactively contaminated food and water. On 21 March 2011, the first restrictions on distribution and consumption of contaminated items were ordered. So far, tap water, raw milk, vegetables, mushrooms, fruit, nut, seaweeds, marine invertebrates, coastal fish, freshwater fish, beef, wild animal meat, brown rice, wheat, tea leaves and other foodstuffs had been contaminated above the provisional regulation values. The provisional regulation values for radioiodine were exceeded in samples taken from 16 March 2011 to 21 May 2011, and those for radiocesiums from 18 March 2011 to date. All restrictions were imposed within 318 days after the provisional regulation values were first exceeded for each item. This paper summarizes the policy for the execution of monitoring surveys and restrictions, and the outlines of the monitoring results of 220 411 samples and the enforced restrictions predicated on the information available as of 31 March 2012.

Calculation of isotope-specific exemption levels for surface contamination

Isotope-specific exemption levels for surface contamination are calculated for representative radionuclides in general nuclear power plants by developing a deterministic dose assessment model for surface contamination that can be applied to radiation, transport and waste safety, and a practical idea of judging exemption for gross surface contamination by measuring gross gamma-ray emission has been proposed. In the dose assessment model, the objects with surface contamination are classified into three types: manually handled, closely handled and remotely handled objects, and the exemption criteria are chosen to be 0.01mSv/yr in the case of using realistic exposure parameters and 1mSv/yr in the case of using low-probability exposure parameters in accordance with the IAEA Safety Standards Series No. RS-G-1.7. Taking into account the distribution area of surface contamination assumed in the dose assessment model, instead of using the evaluation area of 100cm(2) without variation, the exemption levels for gross surface contamination are found to be higher than those obtained by the conventional method for some radionuclides such as Mn-54, Co-60, Zn-65, Nb-94, Cs-134, Cs-137, Eu-152 and Eu-154.

Verification of screening level for decontamination implemented after Fukushima nuclear accident.

The screening level for decontamination that has been applied for the surface of the human body and contaminated handled objects after the Fukushima nuclear accident was verified by assessing the doses that arise from external irradiation, ingestion, inhalation and skin contamination. The result shows that the annual effective dose that arises from handled objects contaminated with the screening level for decontamination (i.e. 100 000 counts per minute) is <1 mSv y−1, which can be considered as the intervention exemption level in accordance with the International Commission on Radiological Protection recommendations. Furthermore, the screening level is also found to protect the skin from the incidence of a deterministic effect because the absorbed dose of the skin that arises from direct deposition on the surface of the human body is calculated to be lower than the threshold of the deterministic effect assuming a practical exposure duration.

Validity of generic scenarios used in derivation of exemption levels for surface contamination considering transport-specific aspects

The exemption levels for surface contamination in units of Bq cm(-2) were derived by developing a new universal dose assessment model that consists of three generic scenarios assessed by considering manually, closely and remotely handled objects. In this paper, as part of the process of verifying the validity of these generic scenarios, annual doses that arise from transport-specific aspects are calculated. The maximum annual doses are found to be lower than 10 µSv, which is the bottom line of the exemption dose criterion. The result verifies the validity of the generic scenarios used in the previous derivation of exemption levels for surface contamination.

Operational level for unconditional release of contaminated property from affected areas around Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

This paper focuses on the surface contamination control of slightly contaminated property after the Fukushima nuclear accident. The operational level for the unconditional release of contaminated properties is calculated in counts per minute (cpm) to enable the use of a typical Geiger-Muller (GM) survey meter with a 50-mm bore, on the basis of the surficial clearance level of 10 Bq cm−2 for 134Cs and 137Cs derived in the previous studies of the authors. By applying a factor for the conversion of the unit surface contamination to the count rate of a survey meter widely used after the Fukushima accident, the operational level for the unconditional release of contaminated properties was calculated to be 2300 cpm on average and 23 000 cpm at the highest-contamination part. The calculated numerical values of the operational levels are effective as long as the typical GM survey meter is used in the radiation measurement.

Integrating radiation protection criteria for radioactive waste management into remediation procedures in existing exposure situations after a nuclear accident

Experience after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station has shown that there is a need to establish radiation protection criteria for radioactive waste management consistent with the criteria adopted for the remediation of existing exposure situations. A stepwise approach to setting such criteria is proposed. Initially, a reference level for the annual effective dose from waste management activities in the range 1-10 mSv should be set, with the reference level being less than the reference level for the ambient dose. Subsequently, the reference level for the annual effective dose from waste management activities should be reduced in one or more steps to achieve a final target value of 1 mSv. The dose criteria at each stage should be determined with relevant stakeholder involvement. Illustrative case studies show how this stepwise approach might be applied in practice.

Verification Test of Clearance Automatic Laser Inspection System for Surface Contamination Measurement

Recently, a clearance automatic laser inspection system (CLALIS) has been developed for clearance measurement of scrap metals and concrete debris. It utilizes three-dimensional laser scanning, gamma-ray measurement and Monte Carlo calculation, and its outstanding detection ability has been verified. In Japan, when an object is removed from a radiation-controlled area, the activity level must be lower than the surface contamination density standard of 4 Bq/cm2 for beta and gamma emitters, which is one-tenth of the surface contamination density limit. According to the clearance inspection report published by the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan, the activity level of waste must be compared with not only the clearance level but also the surface contamination density standard for clearance inspection. To demonstrate that CLALIS can also be used for the measurement of surface contamination, a verification test was carried out using actual metal waste samples of various shapes, sizes and activity levels at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station of Tokyo Electric Power Company. As a result, it was clarified that CLALIS gives a conservative value for surface contamination compared with the conventional GM survey meter measurement. This because the activities of metal waste samples were estimated using the total count rate, a fixed average surface area of 100 cm2 and the conservative source position assumed in the Monte Carlo calculation for the calibration factor. In a nuclear power plant, the actual judgment of whether an object can removed from a radiation-controlled area is based on whether the result of surface contamination measurement is lower than the detection limit, which is significantly lower than 4 Bq/cm2 . According to this criterion, CLALIS provides an almost identical judgment to the GM survey meter, which means that CLALIS can be used as a rational clearance monitor to carry out clearance level and surface contamination inspections in a single radiation measurement. The prospective detection limit for CLALIS at nuclear power plants is also discussed and compared with that for the conventional surface contamination monitors.Copyright