IAEA-TECDOC-1472 Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM IV) Proceedings of an international conference held in Szczyrk, Poland, 17–21 May 2004 October 2005 IAEA SAFETY RELATED PUBLICATIONS IAEA SAFETY STANDARDS Under the terms of Article III of its Statute, the IAEA is authorized to establish or adopt standards of safety for protection of health and minimization of danger to life and property, and to provide for the application of these standards. The publications by means of which the IAEA establishes standards are issued in the IAEA Safety Standards Series. This series covers nuclear safety, radiation safety, transport safety and waste safety, and also general safety (i.e. all these areas of safety). The publication categories in the series are Safety Fundamentals, Safety Requirements and Safety Guides. Safety standards are coded according to their coverage: nuclear safety (NS), radiation safety (RS), transport safety (TS), waste safety (WS) and general safety (GS). 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OTHER SAFETY RELATED PUBLICATIONS The IAEA provides for the application of the standards and, under the terms of Articles III and VIII.C of its Statute, makes available and fosters the exchange of information relating to peaceful nuclear activities and serves as an intermediary among its Member States for this purpose. Reports on safety and protection in nuclear activities are issued in other publications series, in particular the Safety Reports Series. Safety Reports provide practical examples and detailed methods that can be used in support of the safety standards. Other IAEA series of safety related publications are the Provision for the Application of Safety Standards Series, the Radiological Assessment Reports Series and the International Nuclear Safety Group’s INSAG Series. The IAEA also issues reports on radiological accidents and other special publications. Safety related publications are also issued in the Technical Reports Series, the IAEA-TECDOC Series, the Training Course Series and the IAEA Services Series, and as Practical Radiation Safety Manuals and Practical Radiation Technical Manuals. Security related publications are issued in the IAEA Nuclear Security Series. IAEA-TECDOC-1472 Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM IV) Proceedings of an international conference held in Szczyrk, Poland, 17–21 May 2004 October 2005 The originating Section of this publication in the IAEA was: Policy and Programme Support Section Division of Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramer Strasse 5 P.O. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna, Austria NATURALLY OCCURRING RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS (NORM IV) IAEA, VIENNA, 2005 IAEA-TECDOC-1472 ISBN 92–0–110305–0 ISSN 1011–4289 © IAEA, 2005 Printed by the IAEA in Austria October 2005 FOREWORD Radionuclides of natural origin are ubiquitous in both working and public environments, although their activity concentrations vary considerably. Exposures to natural sources are in most cases not a matter for regulatory concern. However, there are situations where exposures to natural sources may warrant consideration as to whether controls should be applied. One such situation is where the conditions are conducive to the buildup of elevated concentrations of radon in air. Another situation is the mining and/or processing of material where the activity concentrations of radionuclides of natural origin in the material itself, or in any material arising from the process, are significantly elevated — such material has come to be referred to as Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM). In the past, regulatory attention has been focused mostly on exposures arising from the mining and processing of uranium ores because such activities are part of the nuclear fuel cycle. More recently, attention has been broadened to include exposures from other industrial activities involving NORM, in recognition of the potential for such activities to also give rise to significant exposures of workers and members of the public if not adequately controlled. More and more countries are now including provisions in their national legislation and regulations for the control of exposures to natural sources, and the body of radiological data on such exposures is growing rapidly. This international conference, NORM IV, follows three previous conferences dealing with radon and NORM. The first was held in Amsterdam in 1997, the second in Krefeld, Germany in 1998 (NORM II), and the third in Brussels in 2001 (NORM III). In addition, an International Symposium on Technologically Enhanced Natural Radiation was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1999 — the IAEA was involved in the organization of that symposium, and published the proceedings as IAEA-TECDOC-1271. The main topic addressed at NORM IV was exposure to radionuclides of natural origin in mining and other industrial operations involving NORM, including impacts associated with NORM residues and discharges. Other important topics addressed included legal aspects (standards and regulation) and measurement techniques, including measurement of radon. NORM IV was organized by the Central Mining Institute, Poland with the assistance of an international scientific committee. The IAEA served on this committee and played an active role in the technical aspects of the organization and running of the conference. In line with the IAEA’s safety-related programme objective to foster information exchange, it is intended that, through the publication of these proceedings, valuable new information on exposure to natural sources presented at this conference will be disseminated to a wide spectrum of technical and regulatory personnel working in this area. This publication was compiled with the assistance of S. Chałupnik, Central Mining Institute, Poland. The IAEA officer responsible for this publication was D.G. Wymer of the Division of Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety. EDITORIAL NOTE The papers in these proceedings are reproduced as submitted by the authors and have not undergone rigorous editorial review by the IAEA. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the IAEA, the governments of the nominating Member States or the nominating organizations. The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries. The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA. The authors are responsible for having obtained the necessary permission for the IAEA to reproduce, translate or use material from sources already protected by copyrights. CONTENTS SUMMARY............................................................................................................................... 1 NORM IN MINING NORM in mining industry in Poland ....................................................................................... 13 J. Skovronek, B. Michalik, J. Dulewski Measurement of short lived radon daughters in Polish mines ................................................. 18 K. Skubacz, A. Mielnikow Status of radon dosimetry in Zambian underground mines ..................................................... 24 P. Hayumbu, S. Mulenga, M. Nomai, P. Mulenga, R. Katebe, P. Shaba, T. Chunga, D. Inambao, F. Mangala, P. Tembo, Y. Malama Radium removal from mine water — 5 years of underground treatment installation ............. 29 M. Wysocka, E. Molenda, S. Chałupnik Exposure from an igneous phosphate mine operation ............................................................. 39 A.J. van der Westhuizen Rail transport of igneous phosphate rock................................................................................. 48 A.J. van der Westhuizen Investigation of abandoned surface settling ponds .................................................................. 58 M. Wysocka, S. Chałupnik, A. Mielnikow Theoretical study of radium behaviour in aquifers .................................................................. 67 S. Chałupnik Radium behaviour during desalination processes of mine waters ........................................... 79 S. Chałupnik, K. Skubacz Sources of TENORM — Inventory of phosphate fertilizer and aluminium industry.............. 87 D. Georgescu, F. Aurelian, M. Popescu, C. Rădulescu ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION Soil contamination in a rural site used for rare earth industry by-product disposal................. 99 C. Briquet, M. Cipriani, A.C. Ferreira