Assessment of (222)Rn emanation from ore body and backfill tailings in low-grade underground uranium mine.
This paper presents a comparative study of (222)Rn emanation from the ore and backfill tailings in an underground uranium mine located at Jaduguda, India. The effects of surface area, porosity, (226)Ra and moisture contents on (222)Rn 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 × 10(-3) and 1.03 Bq m(-2) s(-1), respectively. Significant positive linear correlations between (222)Rn emanation rate and the (226)Ra content of ore and tailings were observed. For normalised (226)Ra content, the (222)Rn 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 (226)Ra content and bulk porosity are the dominant factors for radon emanation into the mine atmosphere.
Department of Mining Engineering, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, 826 004, India. devi_agl@yahoo.com.
Devi Prasad
DP
Mishra
Department of Mining Engineering, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, 826 004, India.
Patitapaban
P
Sahu
Department of Mining Engineering, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, 826 004, India.
Durga Charan
DC
Panigrahi
Environmental Assessment Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, 400 085, India.
Vivekanand
V
Jha
Environmental Assessment Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, 400 085, India.
R Lokeswara
RL
Patnaik
D007194:India; D008906:Mining; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D011886:Radon / Q000032:analysis*; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D014501:Uranium
D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D014501:Uranium; D011886:Radon