Wildfires Oppositely Modify Radiocesium Mobility in Forest Litter and Soils: Evidence from Radiologically Contaminated Areas in Fukushima.

Wildfires in radiologically contaminated areas have raised concerns about radionuclide redistribution and increased radiation exposure. Most radionuclides, such as radiocesium (137Cs), remain in the charred residues and burned soil even after wildfires. This study investigated the impact of wildfires on 137Cs speciation in forest litter and soils following the Fukushima nuclear accident. Extraction tests of 137Cs from unburned litter and soil artificially combusted at 250, 375, and 500 °C were conducted. 137Cs leaching from charred residues and burned soil collected from the field after the wildfires was tested. Sequential extraction was performed on soil obtained after the fire. The results indicated that water-soluble 137Cs from burned litter increased with combustion temperature. However, in artificially combusted soil, the release of water-soluble 137Cs was significantly reduced. In the field, 137Cs leaching from charred residues was lower than that from unburned litter. The fraction of water-soluble 137C in burned soil did not differ significantly from that in unburned soil. This suggests that the combustion temperature was relatively low and insufficient to promote significant leaching or soil drying. Furthermore, the combustion of soil organic matter may have altered the exchangeable form of 137Cs. Overall, these findings suggest that wildfires enhance 137Cs retention in soil, potentially delaying its release.

• Publication year

  2026

• Venue

  Environmental Science and Technology

• Publication date

  2026-02-08

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1021/acs.est.5c10144PMID 41656648
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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