Methodology applied to ensure compliance with the remediation goals of an old rare earth production plant contaminated with radionuclides in Brazil

Abstract

In the past, Brazil has already exploited its immense mineral reserves of rare earth elements. The industrial plants that processed these rare earth ores were contaminated with radionuclides, this happened because at that time there was no legal framework to prevent it. When it was necessary to close these sites, the areas contaminated with radionuclides were remedied during the decommissioning process. This article reports on the steps in the remediation process of an area in one of these facilities and also describes and discusses the methodology applied to ensure that the final planned and authorized radiation levels were effectively achieved during the remediation of this area, located in the largest city in the country. For that, results of the analyses carried out by the operator were the object of comparative analytical tests to verify the quality of the reported data. In order to avoid contaminated and abandoned facilities in the future, it is recommended that the financial planning of industrial facilities with specific environmental and radiological characteristics take into account all the associated costs to be considered environmentally sustainable.