Occupational exposure to natural radioactivity in a zircon sand milling plant.
Raw zirconium sand is one of the substances (naturally occurring radioactive material, NORM) which is widely used in the ceramic industry. This sand contains varying concentrations of natural radionuclides: mostly U-238 but also Th-232 and U-235, together with their daughters, and therefore may need to be regulated by Directive 96/29/EURATOM. This paper describes the method used to perform the radiological study on a zircon sand milling plant and presents the results obtained. Internal and external doses were evaluated using radioactivity readings from sand, airborne dust, intermediate materials and end products. The results on total effective dose show the need for this type of industry to be carefully controlled, since values near to 1 mSv were obtained.
Ballesteros
Luisa
L
Laboratorio de Radioactividad Ambiental, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Apartado 22012, E-46071 Valencia, Spain. lballest@upvnet.upv.es
Zarza
Isidoro
I
Ortiz
Josefina
J
Serradell
Vicente
V
D000465:Algorithms; D001417:Background Radiation; D002516:Ceramics; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D017640:Silicates; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D013910:Thorium / Q000032:analysis; D014501:Uranium / Q000032:analysis; D015040:Zirconium
D017640:Silicates; D014501:Uranium; C003784:zircon; D013910:Thorium; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D015040:Zirconium