title: Long term changes in the concentration of radium in discharge waters of coal mines and Upper Silesian rivers.
abstract: According to the latest guidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA, 2016), coal mining is one of the most important contributors to occupational exposure. Coal mining contributes about 45% of the total annual collective dose obtained by workers due to the exposure at places of working. One of the sources of exposure in mining are formation brines with elevated concentrations of natural radionuclides, the most common are radium226Ra and228Ra. Radium isotopes often occur in formation waters in underground collieries in the Upper Silesian region (USCB) in Poland. Significant amounts of radium remain underground in the form of radioactive deposits created as a result of spontaneous deposition or water treatment. This phenomenon leads to the increase of radiation hazard for miners. The remaining activities of226Ra and228Ra are released into the rivers with mine effluents, causing the contamination of bottom sediments and river banks. The results of radioactivity monitoring of effluents and river waters are presented here to illustrate a trend of long-term changes in environmental contamination, caused by mining industry in the Upper Silesian Region.
authors.affiliation: Central Mining Institute, 40-166 Katowice, Pl. Gwarkow 1, Poland. Electronic address: schalupnik@gig.eu.
authors.forename: Stanisław
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chałupnik
authors.affiliation: Central Mining Institute, 40-166 Katowice, Pl. Gwarkow 1, Poland. Electronic address: mwysocka@gig.eu.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wysocka
authors.affiliation: Central Mining Institute, 40-166 Katowice, Pl. Gwarkow 1, Poland.
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Janson
authors.affiliation: Central Mining Institute, 40-166 Katowice, Pl. Gwarkow 1, Poland.
authors.forename: Izabela
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Chmielewska
authors.affiliation: Central Mining Institute, 40-166 Katowice, Pl. Gwarkow 1, Poland.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wiesner
mesh_terms: D003032:Coal Mining; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D011044:Poland; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D011883:Radium / Q000032:analysis*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D014878:Water Pollution, Radioactive / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive; D011883:Radium
keywords: Activity of radium daily release; Coal mining; Environment; Radium discharges; Radium-bearing waters