Fukushima and Chernobyl Nuclear Accidents’ Environmental Assessments and U.S. Hanford Site's Waste Management

This paper describes environmental clean-up activities at Fukushima Prefecture, Japan and a proposed strategic remediation plan, the Chernobyl remediation in Ukraine, and Hanford Site of the U.S. Department of Energy. For the Fukushima case, cesium is strongly adsorbed by fine soil, and it has mostly remained on the land surface. Thus, removal of a thin top surface of the contaminated soil is an effective environmental clean-up method. Chernobyl remediation generally aims to eliminate relevant radionuclide pathways to humans and the Hanford Site have been undergone both reducing contamination levels and cutting-off pathways to humans.