A plant that grows abundantly in irrigation waterways and ponds may be the seed for solving the problem of radioactive fallout in rice paddies contaminated by the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, according to researchers.
A plant that grows abundantly in irrigation waterways and ponds may be the seed for solving the problem of radioactive fallout in rice paddies contaminated by the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, according to researchers.
Dwarf hairgrass, or Eleocharis acicularis, is a fast growing plant with long grass-like leaves and is known to absorb heavy metals such as cadmium and zinc.
A team led by Masayuki Sakakibara, professor of biology at Ehime University's graduate school, found that it also absorbs large quantities of radioactive cesium in the soil.
With help from officials at a prefectural agricultural center in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Sakakibara's team planted five kilograms of the plant in containers filled with soil collected from the bottom of the center's paddies.
The soil contained about 3,800 bequerels of cesium per kilogram. The study found that the plants absorbed a maximum 1,071 becquerels of cesium per kilogram.
Because the absorption process is rapid, the researchers hope that the plant could provide real help in decontamination work following the disaster.
It is not yet clear how the contaminated plants will be dealt with.
The research was conducted as part of reconstruction efforts backed by the Geological Society of Japan.