The behavior of the 210Pb during the recycling of selected waste in the metallurgical industry

Abstract

Contemporary trends in the metal industry are based on zero-waste and a closed circular economy. Such an approach has encouraged the industry to search for new methods of metal production using unconventional sources of them instead of high-priced raw materials. Waste from some industry sectors e.g. residues, slag, stack dust, etc. may be a economically interesting input material for other sectors of industry. There are at least two benefits reusing waste in such a way – the reduction of disposal costs and reduction of the environmental and health impact of industry. However, industrial waste or by-products are often classed as naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM). The behavior of a lead isotope 210Pb – a naturally occurring radioactive nuclide - was investigated in this work. The analyzed metallurgical process is based on the recycling of waste from niobium and tantalum production, which were then used in tin and lead production. Behavior of 210Pb in particular stages of a process may lead to the enrichment of this radionuclide in the final product – distilled lead. The concentrations of 210Pb in the input material, final product as well as generated by-products and waste were determined.