Fukushima and Chernobyl: Similarities and Differences of Radiocesium Behavior in the Soil-Water Environment

In the wake of Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents, radiocesium has become a radionuclide of most environmental concern. The ease with which this radionuclide moves through the environment and is taken up by plants and animals is governed by its chemical forms and site-specific environmental characteristics. Distinctions in climate and geomorphology, as well as Cs-137 speciation in the fallout, result in differences in the migration rates of Cs-137 in the environment and rates of its natural attenuation. In Fukushima areas, Cs-137 was strongly bound to soil and sediment particles, with its bioavailability being reduced as a result. Up to 80% of the deposited Cs-137 on the soil was reported to be incorporated in hot glassy particles (CsMPs) insoluble in water. Disintegration of these particles in the environment is much slower than that of Chernobyl-derived fuel particles. The higher annual precipitation and steep slopes in Fukushima-contaminated areas are conducive to higher erosion and higher total radiocesium wash-off. Among the common features in the Cs-137 behavior in Chernobyl and Fukushima are a slow decrease in the Cs-137 activity concentration in small, closed, and semi-closed lakes and its particular seasonal variations: increase in the summer and decrease in the winter.