Abstract
Ground water ecosystem surrounding the uranium processing facility at Jaduguda, India has been studied for natural uranium distribution. Annual intake of uranium through drinking water for members of public residing around the uranium complex is found to be in the range of 41.8 Bq·y –1 - 44.4 Bq·y –1 . The intake and ingestion dose is appreciably low (<2 Sv·y –1 ) which is far below the WHO recommended level of 100 Sv·y –1 . The excess life time radiological risk due to uranium natural in drinking water is insignificant and found to be of the order of 10 –6 . Even the highest concentration of uranium was found to be 28 g·l –1 is away (at 1.5 to 5 km distance) from mining industry and well below the acceptable limit. The ground water in the area around the uranium facility is not affected by the mining activity. The ground water in three zones is safe and reflects the natural distribution of uranium.
Highlights
1.1 General DescriptionRapid industrialization and subsequent waste disposal has been a concern for ground water contamination
The distribution of U(nat) in ground water reflects the natural background of the area
The variation in concentration at different distances may be attributed to the geological features of the area and the physicochemical environment around the source
Summary
Rapid industrialization and subsequent waste disposal has been a concern for ground water contamination. Industrial activities, metal mining and waste depositary may contribute to the nearby ground water sources by radionuclide migration. Mining and processing of uranium in the east-Singbhum region of Jharkhand has been started in early sixties. The change in physicochemical characteristics of tailings over the period may take place leading to dissolution of some of the contaminants. The migration of these contaminants into the adjoining ground water sources can be anticipated. Evaluation of ingestion dose and subsequent risk due to intake of water to population residing around the tailings pond is the subject matter of this study. The mining complex comprises of uranium mines, ore processing plant and tailings ponds. The maximum temperature in summer is >45 ̊C and minimum is
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