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Alvarado, J.A.C.; Balsiger, B.; Röllin, S.; Jakob, A.; Burger, M. |
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Radioactive and chemical contamination of the water resources in the former uranium mining and milling sites of Mailuu Suu (Kyrgyzstan) |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2014 |
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Journal of Environmental Radioactivity |
Abbreviated Journal |
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138 |
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1-10 |
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Former uranium mines, Kyrgyzstan, Mailuu Suu, Uranium contamination, Water resources |
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Abstract |
An assessment of the radioactive and chemical contamination of the water resources at the former uranium mines and processing sites of Mailuu-Suu, in Kyrgyzstan, was carried out. A large number of water samples were collected from the drinking water distribution system (DWDS), rivers, shallow aquifers and drainage water from the mine tailings. Radionuclides and trace metal contents in water from the DWDS were low in general, but were extremely high for Fe, Al and Mn. These elements were associated with the particle fractions in the water and strongly correlated with high turbidity levels. Overall, these results suggest that water from the DWDS does not represent a serious radiological hazard to the Mailuu Suu population. However, due to the high turbidities and contents of some elements, this water is not good quality drinking water. Water from artesian and dug wells were characterized by elevated levels of U (up to 10 μg/L) and some trace elements (e.g. As, Se, Cr, V and F) and anions (e.g. Cl−, NO3−, SO42−). In two artesian wells, the WHO guideline value of 10 μg/L for As in water was exceeded. As the artesian wells are used as a source of drinking water by a large number of households, special care should be taken in order to stay within the WHO recommended guidelines. Drainage water from the mine tailings was as expected highly contaminated with many chemicals (e.g. As) and radioactive contaminants (e.g. U). The concentrations of U were more than 200 times the WHO guideline value of 30 μg/L for U in drinking water. A large variation in 234U/238U isotopic ratios in water was observed, with values near equilibrium at the mine tailings and far from equilibrium outside this area (reaching ratios of 2.3 in the artesian well). This result highlights the potential use of this ratio as an indicator of the origin of U contamination in Mailuu Suu. |
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THL @ christoph.kuells @ alvarado_radioactive_2014 |
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123 |
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Dutova, E.M.; Nikitenkov, A.N.; Pokrovskiy, V.D.; Banks, D.; Frengstad, B.S.; Parnachev, V.P. |
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Title |
Modelling of the dissolution and reprecipitation of uranium under oxidising conditions in the zone of shallow groundwater circulation |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2017 |
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Journal of Environmental Radioactivity |
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178-179 |
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63-76 |
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Groundwater, Hydrochemical modelling, Mineralisation, Natural uranium, Ore, Solubility |
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Generic hydrochemical modelling of a grantoid-groundwater system, using the Russian software “HydroGeo”, has been carried out with an emphasis on simulating the accumulation of uranium in the aqueous phase. The baseline model run simulates shallow granitoid aquifers (U content 5 ppm) under conditions broadly representative of southern Norway and southwestern Siberia: i.e. temperature 10 °C, equilibrated with a soil gas partial CO2 pressure (PCO2, open system) of 10−2.5 atm. and a mildly oxidising redox environment (Eh = +50 mV). Modelling indicates that aqueous uranium accumulates in parallel with total dissolved solids (or groundwater mineralisation M – regarded as an indicator of degree of hydrochemical evolution), accumulating most rapidly when M = 550–1000 mg L−1. Accumulation slows at the onset of saturation and precipitation of secondary uranium minerals at M = c. 1000 mg L−1 (which, under baseline modelling conditions, also corresponds approximately to calcite saturation and transition to Na-HCO3 hydrofacies). The secondary minerals are typically “black” uranium oxides of mixed oxidation state (e.g. U3O7 and U4O9). For rock U content of 5–50 ppm, it is possible to generate a wide variety of aqueous uranium concentrations, up to a maximum of just over 1 mg L−1, but with typical concentrations of up to 10 μg L−1 for modest degrees of hydrochemical maturity (as indicated by M). These observations correspond extremely well with real groundwater analyses from the Altai-Sayan region of Russia and Norwegian crystalline bedrock aquifers. The timing (with respect to M) and degree of aqueous uranium accumulation are also sensitive to Eh (greater mobilisation at higher Eh), uranium content of rocks (aqueous concentration increases as rock content increases) and PCO2 (low PCO2 favours higher pH, rapid accumulation of aqueous U and earlier saturation with respect to uranium minerals). |
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THL @ christoph.kuells @ dutova_modelling_2017 |
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114 |
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Milena-Pérez, A.; Piñero-García, F.; Benavente, J.; Expósito-Suárez, V.M.; Vacas-Arquero, P.; Ferro-García, M.A. |
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Title |
Uranium content and uranium isotopic disequilibria as a tool to identify hydrogeochemical processes |
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2021 |
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Journal of Environmental Radioactivity |
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227 |
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106503 |
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234U/238U, Betic cordillera, Groundwater, Hydrogeochemistry, Uranium natural isotopes |
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This paper studies the uranium content and uranium isotopic disequilibria as a tool to identify hydrogeochemical processes from 52 groundwater samples in the province of Granada (Betic Cordillera, southeastern Spain). According to the geological complexity of the zone, three groups of samples have been considered. In Group 1 (thermal waters; longest residence time), the average uranium content was 2.63 ± 0.16 μg/L, and 234U/238U activity ratios (AR) were the highest of all samples, averaging 1.92 ± 0.30. In Group 2 (mainly springs from carbonate aquifers; intermediate residence time), dissolved uranium presented an average value of 1.34 ± 0.13 μg/L, while AR average value was 1.38 ± 0.25. Group 3 comes from pumping wells in a highly anthropized alluvial aquifer. In this group, where the residence time of the groundwater is the shortest of the three, average uranium content was 5.28 ± 0.26 μg/L, and average AR is the lowest (1.17 ± 0.12). In addition, the high dissolved uranium value and the low AR brought to light the contribution of fertilizers (Group 3). In the three groups, 235U/238U activity ratios were similar to the natural value of 0.046. Therefore, 235U detected in the samples comes from natural sources. This study is completed with the determination of major ions and physicochemical parameters in the groundwater samples and the statistical analysis of the data by using the Principal Component Analysis. This calculation indicates the correlation between uranium isotopes and bicarbonate and nitrate anions. |
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THL @ christoph.kuells @ milena-perez_uranium_2021 |
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112 |
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Pereira, A.J.S.C.; Neves, L.J.P.F. |
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Estimation of the radiological background and dose assessment in areas with naturally occurring uranium geochemical anomalies—a case study in the Iberian Massif (Central Portugal) |
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2012 |
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Journal of Environmental Radioactivity |
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112 |
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96-107 |
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Background, Dose assessment, Geochemical anomalies, Mine remediation, Natural radioactivity, Uranium |
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Naturally occurring uranium geochemical anomalies, representative of the several thousand recognized in the Portuguese section of the Iberian Massif and outcropping in three target areas with a total of a few thousand square metres, were subjected to a detailed study (1:1000 scale) to evaluate the radiological health-risk on the basis of a dose assessment. To reach this goal some radioactive isotopes from the uranium, thorium and potassium radioactive series were measured in 52 samples taken from different environmental compartments: soils, stream sediments, water, foodstuff (vegetables) and air; external radiation was also measured through a square grid of 10×10m, with a total of 336 measurements. The results show that some radioisotopes have high activities in all the environmental compartments as well as a large variability, namely for those of the uranium decay chain, which is a common situation in the regional geological setting. Isotopic disequilibrium is also common and led to an enrichment of several isotopes in the different pathways, as is the case of 226Ra; maximum values of 1.76BqL−1 (water), 986Bqkg−1 (soils) and 18.9Bqkg−1 (in a turnip sample) were measured. On the basis of a realistic scenario combined with the experimental data, the effective dose from exposure to ionizing radiation for two groups of the population (rural and urban) was calculated; the effective dose is variable between 8.0 and 9.5mSvyear−1, which is 3–4 times higher than the world average. Thus, the radiological health-risk for these populations could be significant and the studied uranium anomalies must be taken into account in the assessment of the geochemical background. The estimated effective dose can also be used as typical of the background of the Beiras uranium metalogenetic province and therefore as a “benchmark” in the remediation of the old uranium mining sites. |
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THL @ christoph.kuells @ pereira_estimation_2012 |
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129 |
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Salbu, B. |
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Preface: uranium mining legacy issue in Central Asia |
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2013 |
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Journal of Environmental Radioactivity |
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123 |
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1-2 |
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THL @ christoph.kuells @ salbu_preface_2013 |
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125 |
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