Assessment of Rn-222 emanation from ore body and backfill tailings in low-grade underground uranium mine

作者：Mishra Devi Prasad^*; Sahu Patitapaban; Panigrahi Durga Charan; Jha Vivekanand; Patnaik R Lokeswara

来源：Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2014, 21(3): 2305-2312.

DOI：10.1007/s11356-013-2137-4

• Underground uraniummine
• Ore body
• Backfill tailings
• 222Rn emanation rate
• 226Ra content
• Porosity

This paper presents a comparative study of Rn-222 emanation from the ore and backfill tailings in an underground uranium mine located at Jaduguda, India. The effects of surface area, porosity, Ra-226 and moisture contents on Rn-222 emanation rate were examined. The study revealed that the bulk porosity of backfill tailings is more than two orders of magnitude than that of the ore. The geometric mean radon emanation rates from the ore body and backfill tailings were found to be 10.01 x 10(-3) and 1.03 Bq m(-2) s(-1), respectively. Significant positive linear correlations between Rn-222 emanation rate and the Ra-226 content of ore and tailings were observed. For normalised Ra-226 content, the Rn-222 emanation rate from tailings was found to be 283 times higher than the ore due to higher bulk porosity and surface area. The relative radon emanation from the tailings with moisture fraction of 0.14 was found to be 2.4 times higher than the oven-dried tailings. The study suggested that the mill tailings used as a backfill material significantly contributes to radon emanation as compared to the ore body itself and the Ra-226 content and bulk porosity are the dominant factors for radon emanation into the mine atmosphere.

• 出版日期2014-2