Natural Radioactivity in Polish Coal Mines: An Attempt to Assess the Trend of Radium Release into the Environment

International journal of mine water - Tập 38 - Trang 581-589 - 2019
Małgorzata Wysocka1, Stanisław Chałupnik1, Izabela Chmielewska1, Ewa Janson1, Wiktor Radziejowski1, Krzysztof Samolej1
1Główny Instytut Górnictwa, Katowice, Poland

Tóm tắt

The highly mineralised formation waters in the coal mines of Poland’s Upper Silesian Coal Basin contain natural radioactive nuclides, mostly radium. The 226Ra concentration in the groundwater that flows into the underground mine workings reaches 390 Bq/L, and is sometimes exceeded by the 228Ra concentration. The radium-bearing water sometimes also contain barium ions, which enables coprecipitation of barium-radium sulphate. Another type of radium-bearing water contains sulphate ions instead of barium; in this case, radium is transported to settling ponds and downstream. We have assessed the daily activity of radium in waters flowing into the underground mines and being discharged to the environment. Based on 1995 data, we estimate that the total activity of radium isotopes flowing into the mines was about 1300 MBq/day, while the radium activity in the discharge waters was about 700 MBq/day. A similar assessment performed with 2016 data indicated that the total activity in inflows was roughly 1150 MBq/day, while that discharged to surface waters was about 450 MBq/day.

Tài liệu tham khảo

Alley B, Beebe A, Rodgers J Jr, Castle JW (2011) Chemical and physical characterization of produced waters from conventional and unconventional fossil fuel resources. Chemosphere 85(1):74–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.05.043 Bondaruk J, Janson E, Wysocka M, Chałupnik S (2015) Identification of hazards for water environment in the Upper Silesian coal basin caused by the discharge of salt mine water containing particularly harmful substances and radionuclides. J Sustain Min 14(4):179–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsm.2016.01.00.1 Bukowski P (2015) Evaluation of water hazard in hard coal mines in changing conditions of functioning of mining industry in Upper Silesian Coal Basin—USCB (Poland). Arch Min Sci 60(2):65–485. https://doi.org/10.1515/amsc-2015-0030 Bukowski P, Augustyniak I (2013) Changes in the structure of water inflow into coal mines in Poland. Proc, 13th Interdisciplinary Scientific GeoConf (SGEM), vol II. Albena, Bulgaria, 16.06–22.06, pp 25–32. https://doi.org/10.5593/SGEM2013/BA1.V2/S02.004 Buła Z, Kotas A (1994) Geological Atlas of Upper Silesian Coal Basin, Part III, Structural Geological Maps. Polish Geological Institute, Warszawa Centeno LM, Faure G, Lee G, Talnagi J (2004) Fractionation of chemical elements including the REEs and 226Ra in stream contaminated with coalmine effluent. Appl Geochem 19:1085–1095. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2004.01.008 Chałupnik S (2007) Radium in waters of Upper Silesian collieries, methods of monitoring, the environmental impact assessment, mitigation of pollution. Disse, CentralMining Institute, Katowice (in Polish) Chałupnik S (2008) Radium transfer from solid into liquid phase. A theoretical approach to its behaviour in aquifers. Proc, 5th international conf on uranium mining and hydrogeology, freiberg, uranium, mining and hydrogeology, pp 851–864 Chałupnik S, Lebecka J (1992) Determination of 226Ra, 228Ra and 224Ra in water and aqueous solutions by liquid scintillation counting. In: Noakes E, Schonhofer F, Polach HA (eds) Proc, international conf on advances in LSC 92, Vienna, Austria. Radiocarbon, Tucson, pp 397–403 Chałupnik S, Michalik B, Wysocka M, Skubacz K, Mielnikow A (2001) Contamination of settling ponds and rivers as a result of discharge of radium-bearing waters from Polish coal mines. J Environ Radioact 54(1):85–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0265-931X(00)00168-5 Chałupnik S, Wysocka M, Janson E, Chmielewska I, Wiesner M (2017) Long term changes in the concentration of radium in discharge waters of coal mines and Upper Silesian rivers. J Environ Radioact 171:117–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.02.007 Dickson BL (1990) The environmental behaviour of radium. Technical Report STI/DOC/10/310, Radium in Groundwater, IAEA, Vienna Dubiński J (2013) Sustainable development of mining mineral resources. J Sustain Min 12(1):1–6. https://doi.org/10.7424/jsm130102 Eggeling L, Genterb A, Kölbela T, Münch W (2013) Impact of natural radionuclides on geothermal exploitation in the Upper Rhine Graben. Geothermics 47:80–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geothermics.2013.03.002 Eriksen DØ, Sidhu R, Ramsøy T, Strålberg E, Iden KI, Rye H (2009) Radioactivity in produced water from Norwegian oil and gas installations—concentrations, bioavailability, and doses to marine biota. Radioprotection 44:869–874. https://doi.org/10.1051/radiopro/20095155 European Council (2014) Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM of 5 December 2013 laying down basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation and repealing Directives 89/618/Euratom, 90/641/Euratom, 96/29/Euratom, 97/43/Euratom and 2003/122/Euratom. Official Journal of the European Union, 17.1.2014., L 13/1–L 13/73 Galhardi JA, Bonotto DM (2017) Radionuclides (222Rn, 226Ra, 234U, and 238U) release in natural waters affected by coal mining activities in southern Brazil. Water Air Soil Pollut 228:207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-017-3381-x Gans I, Fuhrmann D, Weller E, Wollenhaupt H (1981) Radium in waste water from coal mines and other sources in FRG. Proc, 2nd special symp on natural radiation environment. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay Gucało LK (1964) O niekotorych zakonomiernostiach raspredielenija radia w podziemnych wodach sredniej czasti Dnieprowsko-Donieckoj Wpadliny. Gieochimja 12:1305–1312 (in Russian) Gzyl G, Janson E, Łabaj P (2017) Mine water discharges in Upper Silesian Coal Basin Poland. In: Bech J, Bini C, Pashkevich MA (eds) Restoration and reclamation of mining influenced soils, Academic Press. ISBN 0128097299 Khademi A, Alemi AA, Nasseri A (1980) Transfer of radium of soil to plants in an area of high natural radioactivity in Ramsar, Iran. Proc, conference on natural radiation environment III, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, CONF-780422, T.I:600 Koster HW, Marwitz PA, Berger GW, van Weeres A, Hagel P, Nieuwenhuize J (1992) 210Po, 210Pb, 226Ra in aquatic ecosystems and polders, anthropogenic sources, distribution and enhanced radiation doses in the Netherlands. Radiat Prot Dosimetry 45:715–719 Kotas A (1982) The outline of geological structure of Upper Silesian Coal Basin. Proc, 54th Meeting of Polish Geological Society, Wyd Geol Warszawa (in Polish) Krishnaswami S, Turekian KK (1982) U-238, Ra-226 and Pb-210 in some vent waters of the Galapagos spreading center. Geophys Res Lett 9:827–830 Krishnaswami S, Turekian KK, Graustein WC, Dowd JF (1982) Radium, thorium and radioactive lead isotopes in groundwater. Water Resour Res 18:1663–1675 Martin R, Akber RA (1999) Radium isotopes as indicator of adsorption-desorption interactions and barite formation in groundwater. J Environ Radioact 46(3):271–286 Michalik B (2004) The assessment of exposure to ionizing radiation at spoil banks. Proc, international conf on Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM IV) held in Szczyrk, Poland, IAEA-TECDOC-1472, pp 104-116 Michalik B (2008) NORM impacts on the environment: an approach to complete environmental risk assessment using the example of areas contaminated due to mining activity. Appl Radiat Isot 66:1661–1665. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2008.01.025 Michalik B (2011) Radioactive contamination of the environment, caused by underground mining. Diss, Central Mining Institute, Katowice (in Polish) Paschoa AS, Nobrega AW (1981) Non-nuclear mining with radiological implications in Araxa. In: Gomez M (ed) Radiation hazards in mining. Kingsport Press Inc, Kingsport Różkowski A (1995) Factors controlling the groundwater conditions of the Carboniferous strata in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, Poland. Ann Soc Geol Pol 64:53–66 Różkowski A, Wilk Z (1982) Hydrological problems of Upper Silesian Coal Basin and its northern periphery. Proc,LVI Conf of Polish Geological Soc, Sosnowiec, Poland, pp 72–89 (in Polish) Sałdan M (1965) Metalogenesis of uranium in Carboniferous strata of Upper Silesian Coal Basin, (Metalogeneza uranu w utworach karbońskich Górnośląskiego Zagłębia Węglowego). Biul Inst Geol 193:111–169 (in Polish) Skowronek J, Skubacz K, Michalik B, Mielnikow A (1998) Radiation hazard in Polish coal mines 1997. In: Konopko W (ed) Annual report of natural and technical hazards in hard coal mining. Central Mining Institute, Katowice, pp 112–133 (in Polish) Skubacz K, Lebecka J, Chałupnik S, Wysocka M (1992) Possible changes in radiation background of the natural environment caused by coal mines activity. Energy Sources 14(2):149–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/00908319208908716 Sohrabi M (1993) High level natural radiation areas with special regard to Ramsar. In: Furlan G, Romassino L (eds) Proceedings of the second workshop on radon monitoring in radioprotection, environmental and/or earth science. World Scientific, Singapore, pp 98–108 Tomza I, Lebecka J (1981) Radium bearing waters in coal mines. Proc, international conf on radiation hazard in mining, Golden, CO, USA Tomza I, Lebecka J, Pluta I (1986) Radioactivity of waters occurring in carboniferous strata in Upper Silesian Coal Basin In: Reports of Central Mining Institute, Katowice (in Polish) Vesterbacka P (2007) Natural radioactivity in drinking water in Finland. Boreal Environ Res 12:11–16 Wagner J (1996) Hydrogeological features of deep Carboniferous strata in Main Syncline of Upper Silesian Coal Basin. Diss, Polish Geological Institute, Sosnowiec (in Polish) Wardaszko T, Radwan I, Pietrzak-Flis Z (2001) Radioactive contamination of rivers and lakes in Poland in 1994–2000. Biblioteka Monitoringu Środowiska, Warszawa Wiegand JW, Feige S (2002) Origin of radium in highly mineralized waters. Technical Report IAEA-TECDOC-1271, Vienna Wysocka M, Skowronek J (1991) Analysis of the natural radioactivity of coal from the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. Proc, internat symp on nuclear techniques in the exploration and exploitation of energy and mineral resources. IAEA-SM-308/74, Vienna Wysocka M, Skubacz K, Chałupnik S, Samolej K, Bonczyk M, Chmielewska I (2017) Radiation hazard in Polish coal mines, 2016. In: Kabiesz J, Patyńska R (eds) Annual report of natural and technical hazards in hard coal mining. Central Mining Institute, Katowice, pp 110–125 (in Polish)