Occupational exposure to natural radioactivity in a zircon sand milling plant

Raw zirconium sand is one of the substances (naturally occurring radioactive material, NORM) which is widely used in the ceramic industry. This sand contains varying concentrations of natural radionuclides: mostly U-238 but also Th-232 and U-235, together with their daughters, and therefore may need to be regulated by Directive 96/29/EURATOM. This paper describes the method used to perform the radiological study on a zircon sand milling plant and presents the results obtained. Internal and external doses were evaluated using radioactivity readings from sand, airborne dust, intermediate materials and end products. The results on total effective dose show the need for this type of industry to be carefully controlled, since values near to 1 mSv were obtained.     

新旧版GB6566《建筑材料放射性核素限量》比较研究

为了方便检测机构、消费者和企业理解掌握新版GB6566-2010标准内容,笔者对与旧标准相比的主要变化、标准具体内容进行了归纳整理,并对实际应用中应注意的问题加以解析。     

U and Th in some brown coals of Serbia and Montenegro and their environmental impact

GOAL, SCOPE AND BACKGROUND: The objective of this paper is to determine and compare the concentrations of U and Th in soft to hard brown (lignite to sub-bituminous) coals of Serbia and Montenegro. It also presents comparison of the obtained data on U and Th concentrations with the published data on coals located in some other countries of the world. Almost the whole coal production of Serbia and Montenegro is used as feed coals for combustion in thermal power plants. METHODS: Channel samples from open pit and underground mines and core samples were collected for hard and soft brown coals. For the analysis the samples were decomposed using microwave technique. Obtained solutions containing U and Th were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) using NIST standards. RESULTS: Concentration of U from the investigated basins and the corresponding mine fields ranges within 0.60-70.10 mg/kg, 0.65-3.20 mg/kg, 0.95-6.59 mg/kg, 1.20-6.05 mg/kg, 0.80-6.66 mg/kg, 0.18-89.90 mg/kg, 0.19-4.14 mg/kg, and 0.28-3.52 mg/kg for the Kostolac, Kolubara, Krepoljin, Sjenica, Soko Banja, Bogovina East field, Senje-Resavica and Pljevlja basins, respectively. Concentration of Th ranges within 0.20-2.60 mg/kg, 0.84-6.57 mg/kg, 1.48-6.48 mg/kg, 0.12-2.71 mg/kg, 0.13-4.95 mg/kg, 0.14-3.48 mg/kg, 0.29-3.56 mg/kg, and 0.17-1.89 mg/kg for the Kostolac, Kolubara, Krepoljin, Sjenica, Soko Banja, Bogovina East field, Senje-Resavica and Pljevlja basins, respectively. DISCUSSION: Brown coal from Senje-Resavica, Kolubara, Kostolac and Pljevlja is characterized by low U concentration. Coals form the Krepoljin, Soko Banja and Sjenica basins have slightly higher U concentrations than the mentioned group. The highest concentration of U is characteristic for the coal from the Bogovina East field. Concentration of Th in coals from Serbia and Montenegro has proved to be low. Out of all investigated coal basins, only the coal from the Krepoljin and Kolubara basins has high concentration of Th. The hydrothermally altered rocks of the Timok dacite-andesite complex, representing the basement of the Bogovina basin, could be a potential source of U, especially at the bottom part of the Lower seam of the Bogovina East field. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that brown coals in Serbia and Montenegro (soft to hard brown coals or lignite to sub-bituminous) contain low levels of U (5.30 mg/kg, average value and 2.10 mg/kg geometric mean value) and Th (1.80 mg/kg, average value and 1.12 mg/kg geometric mean value). There are some obvious differences in concentration of U and Th in coals from different basins in Serbia and Montenegro. The approximate value for U and Th release mainly from power plants was 644.33 t and 983.46 t, respectively within the period 1965-2000 for the studied mines in Serbia, and 23.76 t and 15.05 t for the Potrlica mine (Montenegro) within the period 1965-1997. RECOMMENDATIONS: The coals in Serbia and Montenegro show no identifiable unfavourable impact on the surrounding environment, due to low natural radioactive concentration of U and Th, but further investigations concerning human health should be performed. PERSPECTIVES: Preliminary research revealed that in some Serbian coals (and, particularly, parts of the coal seam) U and Th content are rather high. Such coals should be carefully studied, as well as U and Th concentrations in ash, fly ash, waste disposals, nearby soil and ground water. Further studies should include determination of the radioactivity of all these products, and estimation of possible health impact.     

Application of a “closed-can” technique for measuring radon exhalation from mine samples of Punjab, Pakistan

Using the closed-can technique, radon exhalation rate measurements have been carried out for shale and coal samples collected from various mines located in the Chakwal and Makarwal areas of Pakistan. For the two areas, the measured average values of the exhalation rates from shale are 1.45±0.13 and 0.67±0.25 Bq m⁻² h⁻¹ and for coal are 1.0±0.03 and 0.65±0.32 Bq m⁻² h⁻¹, respectively. These values are much lower than the measured exhalation rates from alum-shale-based Nordic concrete which has values in the 50–200 Bq m⁻² h⁻¹ range. The lower values of the measured exhalation rates from the shale and coal deposits in the Chakwal and Makarwal areas are indicative of their lower uranium contents and mine workers in these areas do not face any abnormal health hazard due to radon since the exhalation rates have been found to be on the low side.     

核电燃料元件厂环境辐射监测与评价

本文对 1994～ 1998年核电燃料元件生产所排放的放射性流出物及环境辐射进行了监测分析。结果表明 ,在正常生产运行情况下 ,放射性流出物对周围公众造成的年最大个人有效剂量当量是 7 2 6× 10 -2 mSv ,远低于公众剂量限值。评价半径为80km范围内的集体有效剂量当量为 4 70× 10 -2 人·Sv/a。     

膜组合工艺对地下水中铀的去除及其微生物群落特征

含铀地下水因具有放射性和化学毒性对人类健康构成严重威胁,常规工艺有时无法有效去除地下水铀故需增加处理工艺以满足饮用水水质要求.以我国某地膜组合工艺处理工程为研究对象,监测了6个月运行过程中铀去除效果及常规水质参数,并对各工艺阶段出水及生物膜进行样品采集.结合水质分析与高通量测序探讨了不同工艺段出水水质参数变化,微生物群...     

湖南未耕种土壤中~(234、238)U、~(226)Ra、~(210)Po和~(210)Pb的分布和移动规律的研究

本文采集了湖南省十三个地区未耕种的０８０ｃｍ不同类型土壤样品,分别测定了０１０ｃｍ、２０３０ｃｍ、４０５０ｃｍ、７０８０ｃｍ样品中的２３４、２３８Ｕ、２２６Ｒａ、２１０Ｐｂ、２１０Ｐｏ含量,研究了土壤中铀系放射性核素分布影响和移动规律     

Specific features of the allozyme structure of dandelion populations under conditions of radionuclide and chemical contamination

A study of allozyme spectra has been performed in dandelion cenopopulations growing for a long time under conditions of chemical pollution (the zone of the Nizhnii Tagil Metallurgical Plant, NTMP) or radioactive contamination (the zone of the Eastern Ural Radioactive Trace, EURT). Cenopopulations from the NTMP and EURT zones and from the background area differ significantly in the qualitative and quantitative composition of allozyme phenes. An analysis of clonal diversity has shown that all cenopopulations are phenogenetically unique. The genesis of each cenopopulation proceeded in a specific way: they had different sets of progenitor plants, whose descendants varied genetically in the course of their reproduction and more or less successful colonization of habitats, undergoing selection under the impact of natural environmental factors and technogenic stress. An increased variability of enzyme systems, compared to the sample from the background area, and, as a consequence, reduced clonal diversity may be regarded as a trait common to populations exposed to chemical or radiation stress.     

西北干旱地区地下水放射性环境污染及防治研究--以内蒙古东乌旗地区为例

以东乌旗地区为例，研究了西北地区地下水放射性环境问题。结果表明：东乌旗地区地下水存在严重的放射性污染，花岗岩裂隙水、砂岩承压水和潜水达标率分别为8％、14％和45％；放射性铀、氡污染主要原因为铀矿化扩散成因、淋漓花岗岩成因和蒸发浓缩成因；处理本地区地下水铀污染的合理方法为阴离子交换树脂吸附法；地下水中氡有两面性，一方面饮用水中氡含量超标，给人体带来危害，只需将其露天放置一星期或加温煮沸即可达到饮用水标准；另一方面氡浴又有利于人体的健康。     

上海市土壤中人工放射性水平调查及评价

调查了１９８９－１９９０年上海市土壤中及黄浦江水系底泥中，人工放射性核素的含量。调查共设３２个点，结果表明，上海市土壤中的人工放射性核素含量，＾９０Ｓｒ、＾１３７Ｃｓ、总β的比活度均值分别为２、４１±０．７８、３．１４±１．４７、７１７．０±１３５．９Ｂｑ／ｋｇ，属正常本底水平。土壤中人工放射性核素的比活度在全市范围内分布没有明显差别，波动范围不大。土壤中＾１３７Ｃｓ的比活度比＾９０Ｓｒ高，这与土