Measures for Reducing Transfer of Radioactive Materials to Crops (1/5) - Decontamination of Farmland -

Radioactive materials that were released into the air and fell onto uncultivated farmland stay on topsoil.

Therefore, at farmland where high radioactivity concentrations are detected, the topsoil is scraped away to remove radioactive materials which remain in shallow depth.

In the meantime, at farmland where detected radioactivity concentrations are relatively low, topsoil is replaced with subsoil (inversion tillage) to reduce radioactivity concentrations in the soil layer where plants take root.

In this manner, efforts have been made to reduce radiation doses released from farmland and inhibit growing crops from absorbing radioactive materials.
(Related to p.179 of Vol. 1, “Distribution of Radioactive Cesium in Soil”)

• Included in this reference material on March 31, 2013
• Updated on March 31, 2017