Spatial variability and radiation assessment of the radionuclides in soils and sediments around a uranium tailings reservoir, south of China

Liu, Yuanyuan; Wei-bo, Zhou; Liu, Haiyan; Wei, Qianglin; Gao, Bai; Chen, Gongxin

doi:10.1007/s10967-020-07077-w

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Данное явление происходит благодаря селективному комплексобразованию с органическими лигандами почв, которыми обогащены исследуемые почвы. Наибольший коэффициент вариации характерен для 226 В настоящее время накоплен огромный материал по характеристикам почвенного покрова с загрязнением искусственными радионуклидами как в России, так и за рубежом [8][9][10]. Следует помнить, что почвы наследуют ЕРН от почвообразующих пород и одновременно являются накопителями искусственных радионуклидов [11].…”

Section: аннотацияunclassified

The content of natural radionuclides 40K, 226Ra, 228Th in the chernozems of the Kamennaya Steppe Reserve

Gorbunova¹,

Gromovik²,

Devyatova³

2022

АЭИ

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The article discusses the results of a study of the content of natural radionuclides (40K, 226Ra, 228Th) in ordinary chernozems of the Kamennaya Steppe Reserve. The studies were carried out in soils not subject to any anthropogenic impact under the forest belt, as well as mowed and unmowed fallows. The development of nuclear energy, the widespread use of radioactive sources in industry, medicine, and agriculture has led to an increase in the content of not only artificial, but also natural radionuclides. It was revealed that the accumulation of natural radionuclides is determined by the organic matter of soils. In the chernozems under the forest belt, with the highest carbon content of organic compounds, a slightly larger amount of natural radionuclides (40K, 226Ra, 228Th) is noted. This phenomenon occurs due to selective complexation with soil organic ligands, which are enriched in the studied soils. The highest coefficient of variation is typical for 226Ra, which indicates the inhomogeneity of the activity of the radionuclide in space. 40K and 228Th are characterized by lower values. The activity of these radionuclides is more uniformly distributed in space. The obtained results are recommended to be used when conducting monitoring studies in order to prevent contamination of the soil cover with radionuclides. Keywords: CHERNOZEMS, SPECIFIC RADIOACTIVITY, NATURAL RADIONUCLIDES, POTASSIUM, RADIUM, THORIUM, KAMENNAYA STEPPE RESERVE

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Section: аннотацияunclassified

The content of natural radionuclides 40K, 226Ra, 228Th in the chernozems of the Kamennaya Steppe Reserve

Gorbunova¹,

Gromovik²,

Devyatova³

2022

АЭИ

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“…Due to its large scale, large quantity, and mostly open-air accumulation, it is one of the key radioactive pollution sources (Nixon et al, 2018). Uranium waste rock and tailing slag will gradually release radioactive metal elements such as uranium and thorium under atmospheric erosion and rain wash (Tawfic et al, 2019), and pollutants will continue to migrate into water and soil along with the leachate (Akortia et al, 2021), which is harmful to human health and ecosystems (Liu et al, 2020). The early uranium mines in my country generally completed decommissioning treatment, while the early uranium mining area treatment and restoration methods (Chopra et al, 2013;Jha et al, 2016) were relatively simple.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Release behavior of uranium from a uranium tailing in Jiangxi Province

Xue

Wang

Ouyang

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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In this study, nine soils at different depths in a decommissioned uranium tailing pond in Jiangxi Province are selected as the research objects to study their mineralogical properties and reveal the leaching law of radioactive element uranium under natural rainfall conditions. The research results are as follows: 1) The distribution characteristics of uranium are affected by the mineral composition, microscopic morphology and physical and chemical properties of uranium tailings. 2) In static leaching experiments, acidic solutions, small particles, and high solid-to-liquid ratios all promote the release of uranium. 3) In the dynamic leaching experiment, the lower the pH of simulated rainfall, the more uranium is released. According to Fick theory, the migration mechanism of uranium is mainly surface dissolution, and the release of uranium is related to the content of migratory uranium.

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“…It is, however, impossible to avoid generating a large volume of waste during the process of uranium mining and milling (e.g., overburden, mineralized wastes, residual wastes, etc.) [8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. As a rule, these waste materials still contain huge amounts of long-lived radionuclides, for example, uranium, thorium, radium and others, as well as associated typical heavy metals (for example, Cd, Pb, Cr, etc.)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heavy Metals/Metalloids in Soil of a Uranium Tailings Pond in Northwest China: Distribution and Relationship with Soil Physicochemical Properties and Radionuclides

Yong

Liu

et al. 2022

Sustainability

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Uranium tailings ponds have a potential impact on the soil ecological environment and human health. In this study, the measurement and spatial distribution characteristics of soil physicochemical properties (pH, EC, TN, TOC, and TP) and heavy metals/metalloids (Cd, Pb, Zn, Cr, and As) in two different profiles (0–5 cm, 5–15 cm) were completed and visualized in a decommissioned uranium tailings pond in Northwest China. The results showed that almost all measured values in the study area were within the background values of China and other countries or regions around the world. The visual spatial distribution map showed that the spatial distribution characteristics of the EC, TP content, Pb content, and Cr content of the soil in the tailings pond and its adjacent area increased with the increase in depth of the vertical profile. The visual correlation heatmap analysis found that, in general, there were significant positive correlations among heavy metals and radionuclides and significant negative correlations among heavy metals, radionuclides, and physicochemical properties. The cluster tree divided environmental factors into two clusters; pH, TP, 40K, Cd, and Zn formed one cluster, which could be related to the similar structures and physicochemical properties of Cd and Zn, and Pb, Cr, 232Th, TN, EC, TOC, As, 238U, and 226Ra formed another cluster of lithophile elements with similar geochemical properties. Based on the analysis results, the uranium tailings pond is in good operation, and no migration and diffusion of heavy metals/metalloids to the surrounding soil ecological environment was found.

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Spatial variability and radiation assessment of the radionuclides in soils and sediments around a uranium tailings reservoir, south of China

Cited by 16 publications

References 25 publications

The content of natural radionuclides 40K, 226Ra, 228Th in the chernozems of the Kamennaya Steppe Reserve

The content of natural radionuclides 40K, 226Ra, 228Th in the chernozems of the Kamennaya Steppe Reserve

Release behavior of uranium from a uranium tailing in Jiangxi Province

Heavy Metals/Metalloids in Soil of a Uranium Tailings Pond in Northwest China: Distribution and Relationship with Soil Physicochemical Properties and Radionuclides

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