Ecological and Economic Aspects of Phosphogypsum Safety Management at the Former Uranium Production Site “Pridniproivsky Chemical Plant”

Abstract

Purpose: Justification the possibility of safe re-use and recycling of the residues of Uranium-containing raw material processing as an element of the remediation strategy for bringing the site of the former "Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant" (PChP)to a safe state. Methods: Site specific field studies and analytical methods for determining of the radionuclides of Uranium-Thorium series, as well as useful mineral elements in the residues of Uranium production, assessment of safe management and possible options for its re-use and recycling. Results: According to the results of monitoring studies on the radionuclide and hydrochemical composition of groundwater at the PChP industrial site for the period from 2009 to 2021 year, a high content of sulfates and an increased content of uranium in groundwater under the body of the Dniprovske tailing dump, which has a phosphogypsum coating on its surface, was revealed. Phosphogypsum is considered, on the one hand, as a source of groundwater pollution, and on the other, as a potential resource for its possible reuse and processing. The results of experimental studies of the content of natural radionuclides and the elemental composition of mineral residues of ore production at the site of the former uranium ore processing plant "PChP" are also provided, as well as an safety assessment of their handling and the options of their possible processing as an element of the strategy for bringing the site to a safe state. Conclusions: The possibility and necessity of safe processing of phosphogypsum on the surface of the tailings "Dniprovske" with its simultaneous replacement by a new soil cover is proved.