Ingestion doses from radionuclides in seafood before and after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

The presence of radionuclides in seafood following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011 have led to widespread and persistent concerns over seafood safety. We assess seafood ingestion doses before and after the accident for adults in the Tohoku Region of Northeast Japan. Using a Monte Carlo approach, we evaluate 23 anthropogenic and natural radionuclides alongside realistic seafood consumption rates. In the first year after the accident, the ingestion dose from accident-derived radionuclides was 19 µSv for consumers exposed to the 95th percentile dose, contributing only 2% of the total seafood ingestion dose, which includes natural radionuclides such as 210Po and 210Pb. After the third year, the dose from accident-derived radionuclides was indistinguishable to that from pre-accident background levels. These findings suggest that, with seafood restrictions in place, the impact of accident-related releases on seafood ingestion doses was minor and relatively short-lived compared with that of natural radionuclides. The impact of accident-related release of radionuclides after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in 2011 was minor and relatively short-lived compared with that of natural background levels, when seafood restrictions were taken into account, according to an assessment of seafood ingestion in adults in Tohoku region of Northeast Japan.