Radon emanation from backfilled mill tailings in underground uranium mine

Effect of particle gradation on properties of fresh and hardened cemented paste backfill

“…The fine parts are generally stored in a surface impoundment, whereas the coarse tailings are pumped into underground voids [6]. The tailings in India share the same situation with China [7]. To improve the mechanical performance of CPB, experimental studies have investigated promoting the hydraulic performance of binders by adding ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS), fly ash and, silica fume [8][9][10][11].…”

Radionuclide behaviour in the natural environment

“…In this case, they may enter the environment by dry or wet deposition. Respective releases can be minimized by sealing the site or the waste, covering it with an impermeable layer such as bituminen geomembrane or clay, or by using sprinklers to keep tailings wet (Sahu et al, 2014). These remediation approaches are often used for mine tailings and NORM.…”

Investigation of some factors affecting on release of radon-222 from phosphogypsum waste associated with phosphate ore processing

“…Some of the radon atoms generated by the decay of radium contained in rock grains are not released into the pore spaces of residue because the radon atoms may travel a short distance and remain embedded in the same grain and/or they may travel across a pore space and become embedded in an adjacent grain. The fraction of radon atoms released from the radium-bearing residue grains into pore spaces of certain material is termed as 'emanation fraction' or 'emanation factor' or 'emanation coefficient' or 'emanation power' of radon (Bossew, 2003;Ishimori et al, 2013;Tanner, 1980;Sahu et al, 2014). The release of radon atoms from the residue grains to pore spaces is caused due to processes such as recoil and diffusion (Hassan et al, 2011).…”