title: Uranium decay daughters from isolated mines: Accumulation and sources.
abstract: This study combines in situ gamma spectrometry performed at different scales, in order to accurately locate the contamination pools, to identify the concerned radionuclides and to determine the distribution of the contaminants from soil to bearing phase scale. The potential mobility of several radionuclides is also evaluated using sequential extraction. Using this procedure, an accumulation area located downstream of a former French uranium mine and concentrating a significant fraction of radioactivity is highlighted. We report disequilibria in the U-decay chains, which are likely related to the processes implemented on the mining area. Coupling of mineralogical analyzes with sequential extraction allow us to highlight the presence of barium sulfate, which may be the carrier of the Ra-226 activities found in the residual phase (Ba(Ra)SO4). In contrast, uranium is essentially in the reducible fraction and potentially trapped in clay-iron coatings located on the surface of minerals.
authors.affiliation: Université de Toulouse, INP, UPS, EcoLab (Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement), ENSAT, Avenue de l'Agrobiopole, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France; IRSN/PRP-ENV/SESURE/Laboratoire d'Études Radioécologiques en milieu Continental et Marin, BP 1 13108 Saint Paul Lez Durance Cedex, France; CNRS, EcoLab, UMR 5245, 31326 Castanet Tolosan, France. Electronic address: alicia.cuvier@hotmail.fr.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cuvier
authors.affiliation: IRSN/Pôle Radioprotection, Environnement, Déchets et Crises, Service d'Intervention et d'Assistance en Radioprotection (SIAR), 92262 Fontenay aux Roses Cedex, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Panza
authors.affiliation: IRSN/PRP-ENV/SESURE/Laboratoire d'Études Radioécologiques en milieu Continental et Marin, BP 1 13108 Saint Paul Lez Durance Cedex, France.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pourcelot
authors.affiliation: IRSN/Pôle Radioprotection, Environnement, Déchets et Crises, Service d'Intervention et d'Assistance en Radioprotection (SIAR), 92262 Fontenay aux Roses Cedex, France.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Foissard
authors.affiliation: Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, Bat 501 Bois des Rames, 91400 Orsay, France.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cagnat
authors.affiliation: Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Laboratoire Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, CNRS/IRD/Université Paul Sabatier, 14 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Prunier
authors.affiliation: Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Laboratoire d'Etudes en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales UMR 5566, CNRS/CNES/IRD/Université Paul Sabatier, 14 av. Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: van Beek
authors.affiliation: Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Laboratoire d'Etudes en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales UMR 5566, CNRS/CNES/IRD/Université Paul Sabatier, 14 av. Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Souhaut
authors.affiliation: Université de Toulouse, INP, UPS, EcoLab (Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement), ENSAT, Avenue de l'Agrobiopole, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France; CNRS, EcoLab, UMR 5245, 31326 Castanet Tolosan, France. Electronic address: gael.leroux@ensat.fr.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Le Roux
mesh_terms: D005602:France; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis*; D008906:Mining; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D013051:Spectrometry, Gamma; D014501:Uranium / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D014501:Uranium
keywords: Activity mapping; In situ gamma spectrometry; Multi scale distribution; Sequential extraction; Soils; Uranium mining