Radioactive Cesium (Fukushima Prefecture)
In order to promote future agricultural activities after the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)'s Fukushima Daiichi NPS, levels of contamination of farmland soil with radioactive materials have been surveyed at 384 locations in Fukushima Prefecture.
In a general soil survey conducted by the Ministry of the Environment, soil samples are collected within a depth of approx. 5 cm from the ground surface. In this farmland soil survey, soil to a depth of approx. 15 cm from the ground surface was collected as samples in consideration of the depth of soil to be turned over in cultivation and to which crops take roots. The most recent survey results showed declines in radioactive cesium concentration from the previous survey results released on November 30, 2015 by approx. 8% in paddies, by approx. 18% in fields outside the Areas under Evacuation Orders, and by approx. 3% in both pastures and orchards. The decline in radioactive cesium concentration in soil due to physical attenuation during the same period was approx. 8%.
- Included in this reference material on March 31, 2013
- Updated on March 31, 2017