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Zhou W, Wang H, Zhong Q, Shao Y, Zhou D, Yu X. Characterizing 226Ra and its daughters in coastal zone groundwater of a typical human-activity affected bay: occurrence, safety, and source evaluation. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2024; 31:8703-8718. [PMID: 38180669 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-31784-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
Due to their extremely toxic properties, 226Ra and it daughters (222Rn, 210Pb, and 210Po) in drinking groundwater require monitoring. Recent studies have reported exceptionally high levels of natural 210Po (up to 10,000 Bq/m3), 226Ra, and 222Rn isotopes in groundwater. This study aims to provide background data on 226Ra and its daughter radionuclides in the typical agricultural-industrial Dongshan Bay (DSB) before the construction of Zhangzhou Nuclear Power Plant (Zhangzhou NPP). The measurement results indicate that no abnormally high activities of 210Po and 210Pb were detected in the investigated wells. Strong positive correlations between 210Pb and 210Po, as well as between 222Rn and 210Pb activities, suggest that the origins of 210Pb and 210Po in groundwater are strongly influenced by the decay of the parent radionuclides 222Rn and 210Pb, respectively. In the DSB coastal zone groundwater, significant deficiencies of 210Po relative to 210Pb and 210Pb relative to 222Rn were observed, providing further evidence that 210Po and 210Pb are also effectively scavenged due to their geochemical properties (specifically particle affinity) within the groundwater-aquifer system. A systematic comparison among all relevant water bodies in the DSB revealed that the activity concentrations of 210Pb and 210Po in groundwater were the highest, except for rainwater. Based on the evaluation of 210Pb sources, the results imply that submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is an important pathway for transferring radionuclides (such as 210Pb) from land to the nearshore marine environment, even though the study area has a lower 210Pb background groundwater. By considering all the 210Pb's sources in the DSB, we found low 210Pb background groundwater discharge still needs to be taken into account for small-scale bays. This is because SGD was calculated to be one of the most important 210Pb sources in the bay during observation season. Regardless of whether the system is in a normal state or a nuclear accident emergency state, greater attention should be paid to the groundwater discharge of radionuclides into the ocean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenqing Zhou
- Ministry of Natural Resources, National Ocean Technology Center, Tianjin, 300112, China
- Ministry of Natural Resources, Key Laboratory of Ocean Observation Technology, Tianjin, 300112, China
| | - Hao Wang
- Ministry of Natural Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, 184 # DaXue Road, Siming District, Xiamen, 361005, Fujian Province, China
| | - Qiangqiang Zhong
- Ministry of Natural Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, 184 # DaXue Road, Siming District, Xiamen, 361005, Fujian Province, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China.
| | - Yi Shao
- Ministry of Natural Resources, National Ocean Technology Center, Tianjin, 300112, China
- Ministry of Natural Resources, Key Laboratory of Ocean Observation Technology, Tianjin, 300112, China
| | - Da Zhou
- Ministry of Natural Resources, National Ocean Technology Center, Tianjin, 300112, China
- Ministry of Natural Resources, Key Laboratory of Ocean Observation Technology, Tianjin, 300112, China
| | - Xueqing Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
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Zhang F, Wang J, Huang D, Zhong Q, Yu T, Du J. Fresh Groundwater Discharge as a Major Source of 90Sr into the Coastal Ocean. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:12033-12041. [PMID: 37530516 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c03597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/03/2023]
Abstract
The behavior and source of 90Sr in the coastal ocean remain uncertain. Here, we investigated the distributions of 90Sr in coastal fresh groundwater, river water, pore water, and seawater in three bays along the southeastern coast of China between 2019 and 2021 and evaluated the potential of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) as a source of coastal 90Sr. The 90Sr activity in coastal fresh groundwater was higher than that in river water and seawater, while the 90Sr activity in pore water was comparable to that in adjacent seawater. In addition, nonconservative mixing behavior of 90Sr along the salinity gradient between river water and seawater was observed. These observations indicated that fresh SGD may serve as an additional source of 90Sr in coastal seawater. Combining our groundwater 90Sr data with the reported fresh SGD flux data, the estimated fresh SGD-derived 90Sr fluxes into the three bays were comparable to or even higher than those supplied by riverine sources. These results revealed that fresh SGD is a major but overlooked source of 90Sr in the coastal ocean. This subterranean pathway for transport of 90Sr to the coastal ocean should be considered in the monitoring and risk assessment of coastal areas, especially those near nuclear facilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fule Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
- Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Jinlong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Dekun Huang
- Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Qiangqiang Zhong
- Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Tao Yu
- Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Jinzhou Du
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
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Hirose K, Povinec PP. Ten years of investigations of Fukushima radionuclides in the environment: A review on process studies in environmental compartments. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2022; 251-252:106929. [PMID: 35717792 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2022.106929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Revised: 05/15/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In March 2011, severe nuclear accident happened at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) after the gigantic earthquake and following huge tsunami wave. A lot of investigations to assess environmental and radiological impacts of released radionuclides have been conducted by domestic and international organizations. Environmental radioactivity research related to the FDNPP accident has spread widely over different scientific fields due to specific features of the accident, and specifically its impact on the marine environment. The present paper summarizes major lessons learned from the environmental investigations of the FDNPP accident. Environmental radioactivity studies have typical interdisciplinary character; especially physics and chemistry are fundamental as a base of process studies in the environment. In this sight, we review chemical aspects regarding FDNPP-derived radiocesium transfer within and between compartments (atmosphere, ocean and land). We also discuss future trends in investigations of behavior of anthropogenic radionuclides in the environment, important not only for a better understanding of impacts of the FDNPP accident on the environment, but also for improving our general knowledge of the total environment in the Anthropocene era and its protection for the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katsumi Hirose
- Laboratory for Environmental Research at Mount Fuji, Okubo, Shinjyuku, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Pavel P Povinec
- Comenius University, Department of Nuclear Physics and Biophysics, Bratislava, Slovakia.
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Takata H, Wada T, Aono T, Inoue M, Kanasashi T, Suzuki S, Amano Y. Factors controlling dissolved 137Cs activities in coastal waters on the eastern and western sides of Honshu, Japan. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 806:151216. [PMID: 34717992 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The distributions of dissolved 137Cs in river, nearshore, and offshore waters on the east and west coasts of the Japanese island of Honshu were studied in 2018-2021, 7-10 years after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident. On the east side along the north western North Pacific (Fukushima Prefecture), estuarine processes, including desorption from riverine particles and dissolution into pore water from riverine particles that had settled to the seafloor, contributed to the maintenance of high dissolved 137Cs activities in nearshore and offshore waters. A survey and mass-balance calculation in a semi-enclosed estuarine area, the Matsukawa-ura, in the northern part of Fukushima, provided convincing evidence that rivers contributed to the influx of 137Cs to coastal waters. In contrast, the extremely low activities of dissolved and particulate 137Cs in the Tedori River of Ishikawa Prefecture on the western side of Japan along the Japan Sea suggested that inputs of riverine 137Cs made a negligible contribution to the increase of dissolved 137Cs activities in the nearshore and offshore waters. The relatively high dissolved 137Cs activities observed in the offshore waters of the Japan Sea were due to movement of FDNPP-derived 137Cs into the Japan Sea via the Tsushima Warm Current. Mechanisms controlling the distributions of 137Cs activities in coastal waters of the eastern and western sides of Japan therefore differ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyoe Takata
- Institute of Environmental Radioactivity, Fukushima University, Fukushima, Fukushima 960-1296, Japan.
| | - Toshihiro Wada
- Institute of Environmental Radioactivity, Fukushima University, Fukushima, Fukushima 960-1296, Japan
| | - Tatsuo Aono
- National Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, Fukushima, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
| | - Mutsuo Inoue
- Low Level Radioactivity Laboratory, Kanazawa University, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1224, Japan
| | - Tsutomu Kanasashi
- Institute of Environmental Radioactivity, Fukushima University, Fukushima, Fukushima 960-1296, Japan
| | - Shotaro Suzuki
- Fukushima Prefectural Fisheries and Marine Science Research Center, Iwaki, Fukushima 970-0316, Japan
| | - Yosuke Amano
- Fukushima Prefectural Fisheries and Marine Science Research Center, Iwaki, Fukushima 970-0316, Japan
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