• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.7
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• pp.2388-2394
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• 2023

The radioactivity concentration of environmental radionuclides was analyzed for soil and sand at eight locations within a radius of 255 m centered on the Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Science (DIRAMS), Korea. The average activity concentrations of ⁴⁰K, ¹³⁷Cs, ²²⁶Ra, and ²³²Th were 661.1 Bq/kg-dry, 0.9 Bq/kg-dry, 21.9 Bq/kg-dry, and 11.1 Bq/kg-dry, respectively. The activity of ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs was lower than the 3-year (2017-2019) average reported by the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, respectively. Due to the nature of granite-rich soil, the radioactivity of ⁴⁰K was 0.6-fold higher than in other countries, while ¹³⁷Cs was in the normal fluctuation range (15-30 Bq/kg-dry) of the concentration of radioactive fallout from nuclear tests. The activity of ²²⁶Ra and ²³²Th was lower than in Korean soils reported by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). The average activity concentrations of ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K for the soil and sand samples from DIRAMS were within the range specified by UNSCEAR in 2000. The radium equivalent activity and internal and external hazard index values were below the recommended limits (1 mSv/y). These radionuclide concentration (²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K, and ¹³⁷Cs) data can be used for regional environmental monitoring and ecological impact assessments of nuclear power plant accidents.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.349-351
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• 2003

To ensure the safety of the currently operating nuclear power plant, the Periodic Safety Review program has been conducted. In PSR program, the cumulative behavior of the radionuclide that might be released from the power plant is addressed. The Cs-137 in soil around Kori nuclear power plant was investigated. The soil sample was analyzed and compared with the reference area. The model calculation explained the depth profile of Cs-137.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.115-121
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• 1986

This experiment was conducted to examined the effects of the physico-chemical and mineral-logical properties of paddy soil on the desorption of $Cs^{137}$ from radionuclide, $Cs^{137}$ absorbed soils. 1. Adsorption of $Cs^{137}$ by paddy soil was very much and exchangeable fraction of $Cs^{137}$ extracted by ammonium acetate was very high compared to the water soluble fraction. Exchangeable fraction of $Cs^{137}$ in paddy soil decreased with the increase of potassium application and increased proportionally with the increase of $Cs^{137}$ treatment. 2. The distribution of several forms of $Cs^{137}$ in soils depend on the soil type. Average-distribution rates of water soluble, exchangeable and non-exchangeable fractions of $Cs^{137}$ in soils were 5.9%, 17.1% and 77.0%, respectively. 3. The desorption of $Cs^{137}$ from adsorbed soils decreased with increase of pH and exchangeable cations of the soils, but it increased as organic matter and clay content increase in soil. 4. Non-exchangeable adsorption of $Cs^{137}$ was high in the soils of which both Illite and Vermiculite were dominant.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 1978

Investigation is carried out that low-level liquid radioactive wastes which is consisted of long half-life nuclides such as cesium can be treated by Korean clinoptillolite as a kind of zeolites. Column operation using a activated clinoptillolite shows good results in terms of break-through curves and comparing to clinoptillolite classified at WARD in U.S, Korean clinoptillolite shows a tailing phenomena longer than that of WARD. The fixation quantity of radioactivity in Korea clinoptillolite is to be about $75{\mu}Ci/100g$ using a $2.5{\times}10^{-3}{\mu}Ci/ml$ solution.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.141-148
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• 2006

Surveys of radioactive contamination were performed for imported foodstuffs in 2003. The following samples among imported foodstuffs were selected from markets and Korea Food and Drug Administration(KFDA); the imported samples from country associated with the Chernobyl nuclear accident, the samples produced around the nuclear power plants or nuclear tests, the foodstuffs reported as radioacitive contamination materials in foreign country. After pretreatments such as drying and homogenization, samples were analyzed. The $^{137}Cs$ radionuclide was only measured among the regulation radionuclides($^{137}Cs,\;^{134}Cs,\;^{131}I$) of food code. All foodstuffs except Inonotus Obliquus(Chaga mushooms) are less than 17.0 Bq/kg or below the minimum detectable activity(MDA). The activity concentrations of Chaga mushrooms from Russia ranged up to 131.25 Bq/ltg which is almost 35 % of the maximum permitted level of food code. The fraction of imported foodstuffs having meaningful radioactivity is small, however, the radioactive contamination survey of imported foodstuffs is still needed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.837-842
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• 2019

A large amount of radioactive material was released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) in 2011 and dispersed into the environment. Though seven years have passed since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, some parts of Japan are still under the influence of radionuclide contamination, especially Fukushima Prefecture and prefectures neighboring Fukushima Prefecture. The long-term effective doses and the contributions of each exposure pathway (5 exposure pathways) and radionuclide ($^{131}I$, $^{134}Cs$, and $^{137}Cs$) were evaluated for people living in the regions of Fukushima and neighboring prefectures in Japan using a developed dose assessment code system with Japanese specific input data. The results estimated in this study were compared with data from previously published reports. Groundshine and ingestion were predicted to contribute most significantly to the total long-term dose for all regions. The contributions of each exposure pathway and radionuclide show different patterns for certain regions of Japan.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.618-629
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• 2021

The Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP) accident caused by the East Japan Earthquake in 2011 and the recent increase in the frequency of earthquakes in Korea have caused safety concerns regarding radionuclide exposure. In addition, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in Japan recently decided to release radionuclide-contaminated water from Fukushima's NPP into the Pacific Ocean, raising public concerns that the possibility of radionuclide contamination through both domestic- and foreign fishery products is increasing. Although many studies have been conducted on the input of artificial radionuclides into the Pacific after the Fukushima NPP accident, studies on the distribution and accumulation of artificial radionuclides in marine products from East Asia are lacking. Therefore, in this study, we attempted to explore recent research on the distribution of artificial radionuclides (e.g., ¹³⁷Cs, ^239+240Pu, ⁹⁰Sr, and etc.) in marine products from Korean seas after the Fukushima NPP accident. In addition, we also discuss future research directions as it is necessary to prepare for likely radiation accidents in the future around Korea associated with the new nuclear facilities planned by 2030 in China and owing to the discharge of radionuclide-contaminated water from the Fukushima NPP.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.199-208
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• 1994

The derived intervention levels in Korean foodstuffs were estimated using the dynamic ingestion pathway model which was developed considering Korean environment. The derived intervention levels were estimated from the intervention level of dose based on the thyroid committed dose equivalent of infant in the case of I-131, and the whole body committed dose equivalent for age groups and 13 kinds foodstuffs in the cases of Cs-137 and Sr-90. The derived intervention levels were shown as a considerable variation with deposition time and radionuclide. The adult was the most important age group in the estimation of derived intervention levels for Cs-137 and Sr-90. In the adult, the derived intervention levels for rice were 2390 and 47 Bq/kg for Cs-137 and Sr-90 in the case of deposition in summer, respectively, and 198 and 79 Bq/kg in the case of deposition in winter, respectively.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.55-65
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• 1991

Soil-to-plant transfer coefficients of Mn-54, Co-60, Zn-65, and Cs-137 were estimated for the edible parts of the rice, soybean, lettuce, carrot, and squash grown in different soils by radiotracer uptake experiments using pot cultures. The transfer coefficients of radionuclides were in the order of Zn-65 > Mn-54 > Cs-137 > Co-60 in most of the cases studied. The coefficients for soybean were roughly an order of magnitude higher than those for rice. Among vegetables, lettuce mostly showed the highest value and squash, the lowest. In the strongly acidic soils, transfer coefficients were much higher than in the moderately acidic soils. From the data obtained. crop-specific transfer coefficients of the four nuclides were proposed for the use in Korean food-chain radiation dose assessment.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.115-121
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• 1998

Adsorption characteristics of the radionuclides and stable elements on AMP and $MnO_2$ in the seawater have been investigated. The adsorption yield of AMP was 97.5% for $^{137}Cs$, 11.8% for $^{85}Sr$, and 15.1% for $^{131}I$, while being less than 6% for other radionuclides and elements. The AMP showed the highest adsorption yield for $^{137}Cs$. The adsorption yields of $MnO_2$ were more than 90% for all radionuclides and elements, except for $^{40}K$, $^{137}Cs$ and $^{203}Hg$ of which the adsorption yields were less than 8%.