Abstract
Artisans in Masisi and other parts of the North Kivu province in the easternDemocratic Republic of Congo (DRC) mine columbite–tantalite mineral ores (alsocalled ‘coltan’) for the tantalum content. The potential occupational radiationexposures in the course of this operation, due to the presence of naturally occurringradioactive material (NORM), have been investigated in this screening survey.Activity concentrations of the naturally occurring radionuclides in samples ofcoltan were measured using gamma-ray spectrometry. The average values inBq g−1 are10.75 ± 5.11 for 238U, 7.06 ± 3.39 for 226Ra, 1.75 ± 0.85 for232Th,and 1.63 ± 0.52 for 40K. Based on these values and the working scenarios involved in artisanal coltan mining, theoccupational doses that may accrue from a variety of exposure pathways were determinedby model calculations. The results, assuming conservative dust load and dilution factors,indicate that grinding and sieving coltan can give rise to high occupational doses, up to18 mSv per annum on average.
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