Cleaning Up Sites Contaminated with Radioactive Materials International Workshop Proceedings (2009) / Chapter Skim
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Case Studies, 10 Lands Damaged as a Result of Uranium Ore Mining Operations in the Russian Federation--V. P. Karamushka and V. V. Ostroborodov
Case Studies, 10 Lands Damaged as a Result of Uranium Ore Mining Operations in the Russian Federation--V. P. Karamushka and V. V. Ostroborodov
Pages 59-68
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Case Studies
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The operations of uranium ore mining and processing enterprises inevitably contaminate the environment with solid, liquid, and gaseous wastes, which are the most voluminous within the nuclear fuel cycle industries and, despite their relatively low activity level, significantly contribute to the radiation hazard facing the population. Table 10-1 provides data on radioactive contamination of the main sectors of the environment at uranium ore mining enterprises.
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TABLE 10-1 Characterization of Radioactive Contamination of the Main Sectors of the Environment 62 Maximum Background Values Permissible Concentrations Actual Radiation Hazard Unit of Above Natural Recorded Sector Factors Measurement Average Range Background Value Range Notes Air Equivalent equilibrium Bq/m3 1.8 0.1-10.0 37a 185-260 At distance of 100-150 m concentration of radon from source daughter products ′ Total a-activity of mBq/m3 0.01 0.001-10 12.0 4-40 At distance of 100-150 m long-lived radionuclides from source of the uranium natural radioactive decay family Water Ra-226 and daughter Bq/m3 37 1.11-111 111b 300-500 During geological products prospecting and preparatory mining operations 3,700-5,500 During cleanup operations 10,000-50,000 In crude mine waters 10,000-80,000 In liquid phase of hydrometallurgical plant (HMP) tailings Soils ′ Total a-activity of Bq/kg 370 90-700 600-1,200 1,000-7,400 In sanitary protective zone long-lived radionuclides of operating enterprises of the uranium natural radioactive decay family
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From page 63... ...
Solid Waste Refuse ′ a-activity Bq/kg 240 150-10,000 600-1,200 1,000-12,900 Refuse heaps, waste piles, heaps radiometric enrichment and g-activity μR/hr 12 10-60 20 20-200 heap-leaching tails HMP Radon exhalation from Bq/m2/s 0.016 0.004-0.053 1.0c 1.7-30.0 On dry beaches of tailing tailings surface dumps ′ Solid phase a-activity Bq/kg 210 370-700 600-1,200 1,100-27,300 Solid phase g-activity μR/hr 12 10-60 20 100-1,400 a = outdoors, for dwellings: 200 Bq/m3 b = water reservoirs, for wastewaters assuming their dilution: 185 Bq/m3 c = USSR standard, by ICRP data: 0.74 Bq/m 2/s 63
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The radioactive waste, including contaminated equipment, was removed to the tailings dump. After all uranium ore mining work ceased and the equipment was dismantled, the natural groundwater level began to be gradually restored.
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and with the goal of effectively applying European experience in uranium waste management in the European Union (EU) and East European states, the Russian government decided to ask the EU to provide technical assistance in developing an adequate program for the former uranium ore mining facilities in the Lermontov area for management and reclamation.
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There was a special research laboratory at VNIPIPT engaged in developing technologies for tailings dumps and monitoring their conditions. As a result of the activities at VNIPIPT, which had planned all of the uranium mining enterprises both in the USSR and in Eastern Europe, the institute created an unprecedented database on such capital-intensive (as far as restoration efforts are concerned)
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There are such enterprises in Russia as well: the Stepnoye Ore Mining Administration in the Republic of Kalmykia and the Lermontov Industrial Association Almaz. For the tailings dumps, the main distinction between the arid zone and the areas with continental and extremely continental climate is linked with humidity conditions in the mass of tailing sediments.
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Results of the planned efforts to create an atlas of tailing sediment charts and geochemical landscapes for the CIS countries may also be used for East European sites as well as for other industries where environmental contamination with natural radionuclides occurs. Taking into account the large scale of the efforts and their significance, we believe that the work can be an object of international cooperation within the framework of European Commission and International Science and Technology Center programs.
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