Researchers at University of Tsukuba have identified the source and the factors affecting the radioactive cesium (137Cs) flow to the port of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant via its drainage channels. Using tritium in groundwater that leaked from contaminated water storage tanks as a hydrological tracer, they estimated that ~50% of 137Cs comes from “roof drainage” of the rainwater falling on the reactor buildings. The research is published in the journal Water Research.
Leaked tritium reveals mechanism of radioactive cesium flow from Fukushima Daiichi to the ocean
