Scholarly record
RADIOLOGICAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF URANIUM MINE DEPOSIT
Abstract
Uranium mining is the first step in the nuclear fuel cycle to produce energy. In the nuclear fuel cycle, main steps are; Mining / Milling, Conversion, Enrichment, Nuclear Fuel Fabrication, Reactors, Reprocessing of the spent fuel and Waste Management. In the first step, there are three main methods for uranium ore extraction. These are; Open Pit Mining, Underground Mining and In-Situ leaching (ISL/Lixiviation). All forms of mining methods create health risks for people and hazard for the environment. In this study, in-situ radiation measurements as gamma dose rates around uranium outcrops were taken from near-surface uranium deposits in Turkey. These measurements were carried out by using portable Spectroscopic Radiation Detector (SPRD). Absorbed dose rates and radioactivity values were used to calculate annual effective dose (AED). Depend on the radiation measurements, health and environmental impacts were evaluated. Results show that gamma dose rates in the air of uranium outcrops ranged between 0,52 ?Gy/h and 2,21 ?Gy/h. The calculated AED values show that annual effective dose with an average value of 0,12 mSv/y and 6,79 mSv/y depend on the estimated occupational time. These values are higher than the world average values.
Publication Impact Profile
Publication details
References18
World Health Organization, Uranium in Drinking-water Background document for development of WHO Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality, WHO/SDE/WSH/03.04/118, 2005.
Barthel F., Thoste, V., Borsdof K.H., The Distribution of radionuclides in The Upper Soil Horizons in Lower Saxony, Saxony and Thuringia Germany. IAEA-TECDOC-980 Uranium exploration data and techniques applied to the preparation of radioelement maps Proceedings of a Technical Committee meeting held in Vienna, 13-17 May 1996, pp. 319-335.
Camus H. et al., Long- term contaminant migration and impacts from uranium mill tailings. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 1999, 42, pp.289-304.
International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), Recommendation of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. ICRP Publication 60. Oxford Pergamon Press 1991.
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency, The Long Term Stabilization of Uranium Mill Tailings – IAEA TECDOC- 1 403, 2004, Vienna.
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency, International Basic Safety Standards for Protection Against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources IAEA Safety Series No. 115, 1996, Vienna.
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency, Geological Environments of Sandstone -Type Uranium Deposits, Vienna, 1985 IAEA-TECDOC-328, 1985, Vienna.
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA Technical Report Series, No. 918, Health, and environmental Aspects of Nuclear Fuel Cycle facilities. 1996, Vienna.
Keller G., Radiological aspects of former mining activities in the Saxon Erzgebirge, Germany. Environment International 1993, 19: pp.449-454.
Martin A.J, Crusius J, Jay McNee J., Yanful E.K., The mobility of radium-226 and trace metals in pre-oxidized subaqueous uranium mill tailings. Applied Geochemistry. 2003, 18: pp. 1095-1110
National council on Radiation Protection and Measurement. Environmental Radiation Measurement, NCRP Report No.50 Washington, DC NCRP 1977.
OECD (Nuclear Energy Agency and International Atomic Energy Agency) Uranium 2003: Resources, Production and Demand, OECD, 2004, Paris.
Shilpa G. M., Anandaram B. N., Mohankumari T. L., Environmental Gamma Radiation Level in and Around Thirthahalli Taluk Karnataka India. AEJMR, 2014, V.2, Issue 5, pp. 2348-6724.
Simsek C., Assessment of Natural Radioactivity in Aquifer Medium Bearing Uranium Ores in Koprubasi, Turkey. Environ Geol. Springer, 2008, 55: pp. 1637-1646,
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). Sources, Effects, and Risks of Ionizing Radiation. New York United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Radiation, 2000.
UNSCEAR, Sources, Effects and Risks of Ionizing Radiation, 1988 Report to the General Assembly, with annexed. United Nations, 1988, New York.
UNSCEAR, United nations Scientific committed on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, Report to the General Assembly, United Nations, 1999, New York.
Yilmaz H., Neojen Cokelleri (Koprubasi - Gordes) icindeki Uranyum Yataklarının Oluşumu. Jeoloji Muhendisligi Dergisi, Eylul 1982.
View or Download full articleAccess options
SWS access login
Login as SWS Scientific CommitteeLogin as SWS Scientific PartnerLogin as SWS AuthorAuthors and approved SWS contributors will read and export their own linked papers after identity matching by SWS profile, email and SGEM GlobalID.
For librarian assistance: [email protected]
Purchase Instant Access
- Article can be downloaded after successful payment.
- Article may be used according to SWS library access terms.
- Article cannot be redistributed.
