Safety Reports Series This safety report is a compilation of detailed information on the processes and materials involved in the production of rare earths from Safety Reports Series thorium containing minerals and on the radio- logical considerations that need to be taken into account by the regulatory body when determin- N o. 6 8 ing the nature and extent of radiation protection No. 6 8 measures. Radiation Protection and NORM Residue Management in the Production of Rare Earths from Thorium Containing Minerals Radiation Protection a n d N O R M R e s i d u e M a n a g e m e n t i n t h e P r o d u c t i o n o f R a r e E a r t h s f r o m T h o r i u m Containing Minerals INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY VIENNA ISBN 978–92–0–115710–2 ISSN 1020–6450 11-26421_P1512_cover.indd 1 2011-09-15 11:11:38 RELATED PUBLICATIONS IAEA SAFETY RELATED PUBLICATIONS RADIATION PROTECTION AND NORM RESIDUE MANAGEMENT IN THE ZIRCON AND ZIRCONIA INDUSTRIES IAEA SAFETY STANDARDS Safety Reports Series No. 51 STI/PUB/1289 (149 pp.; 2007) Under the terms of Article III of its Statute, the IAEA is authorized to establish ISBN 92-0-100607-1 Price: €36.00 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. ASSESSING THE NEED FOR RADIATION PROTECTION The publications by means of which the IAEA establishes standards are issued in MEASURES IN WORK INVOLVING MINERALS the IAEA Safety Standards Series. This series covers nuclear safety, radiation safety, AND RAW MATERIALS transport safety and waste safety. The publication categories in the series are Safety Safety Reports Series No. 49 Fundamentals, Safety Requirements and Safety Guides. STI/PUB/1257 (56 pp.; 2006) Information on the IAEA’s safety standards programme is available at the IAEA ISBN 92-0-107406-9 Price: €32.00 Internet site http://www-ns.iaea.org/standards/ APPLICATION OF THE CONCEPTS OF EXCLUSION, The site provides the texts in English of published and draft safety standards. The EXEMPTION AND CLEARANCE texts of safety standards issued in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish, the IAEA Safety Standards Series No. RS-G-1.7 IAEA Safety Glossary and a status report for safety standards under development are STI/PUB/1202 (29 pp.; 2004) also available. For further information, please contact the IAEA at PO Box 100, ISBN 92-0-109404-3 Price: €16.00 1400 Vienna, Austria. All users of IAEA safety standards are invited to inform the IAEA of experience OCCUPATIONAL RADIATION PROTECTION IN THE MINING in their use (e.g. as a basis for national regulations, for safety reviews and for training AND PROCESSING OF RAW MATERIAL courses) for the purpose of ensuring that they continue to meet users’ needs. Information may be provided via the IAEA Internet site or by post, as above, or by IAEA Safety Standards Series No. RS-G-1.6 STI/PUB/1183 (95 pp.; 2004) email to [email protected]. ISBN 92-0-115003-2 Price: €21.00 OTHER SAFETY RELATED PUBLICATIONS RADIATION PROTECTION AND THE MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY The IAEA provides for the application of the standards and, under the terms of Safety Reports Series No. 34 Articles III and VIII.C of its Statute, makes available and fosters the exchange of STI/PUB/1171 (130 pp.; 2003) information relating to peaceful nuclear activities and serves as an intermediary among ISBN 92-0-114003-7 Price: €21.00 its Member States for this purpose. Reports on safety and protection in nuclear activities are issued as Safety MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE FROM THE Reports, which provide practical examples and detailed methods that can be used in MINING AND MILLING OF ORES support of the safety standards. IAEA Safety Standards Series No. WS-G-1.2 Other safety related IAEA publications are issued as Radiological Assessment STI/PUB/1134 (39 pp.; 2002) Reports, the International Nuclear Safety Group’s INSAG Reports, Technical Reports ISBN 92-0-115802-5 Price: €13.50 and TECDOCs. The IAEA also issues reports on radiological accidents, training manuals and practical manuals, and other special safety related publications. Security related publications are issued in the IAEA Nuclear Security Series. INTERNATIONAL BASIC SAFETY STANDARDS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST IONIZING RADIATION AND FOR THE SAFETY OF RADIATION SOURCES Safety Series No. 115 STI/PUB/996 (353 pp.; 1996) ISBN 92-0-104295-7 Price: €78.50 www.iaea.org/books 11-26421_P1512_cover.indd 2 2011-09-15 11:11:38 RADIATION PROTECTION AND NORM RESIDUE MANAGEMENT IN THE PRODUCTION OF RARE EARTHS FROM THORIUM CONTAINING MINERALS The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency: AFGHANISTAN GHANA NORWAY ALBANIA GREECE OMAN ALGERIA GUATEMALA PAKISTAN ANGOLA HAITI PALAU ARGENTINA HOLY SEE PANAMA ARMENIA HONDURAS PARAGUAY AUSTRALIA HUNGARY PERU AUSTRIA ICELAND PHILIPPINES AZERBAIJAN INDIA POLAND BAHRAIN INDONESIA PORTUGAL BANGLADESH IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF QATAR BELARUS IRAQ REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA BELGIUM IRELAND ROMANIA BELIZE ISRAEL RUSSIAN FEDERATION BENIN ITALY BOLIVIA JAMAICA SAUDI ARABIA BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA JAPAN SENEGAL BOTSWANA JORDAN SERBIA BRAZIL KAZAKHSTAN SEYCHELLES BULGARIA KENYA SIERRA LEONE BURKINA FASO KOREA, REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE BURUNDI KUWAIT SLOVAKIA CAMBODIA KYRGYZSTAN SLOVENIA CAMEROON LATVIA SOUTH AFRICA CANADA LEBANON SPAIN CENTRAL AFRICAN LESOTHO SRI LANKA REPUBLIC LIBERIA SUDAN CHAD LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA SWEDEN CHILE LIECHTENSTEIN SWITZERLAND CHINA LITHUANIA SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC COLOMBIA LUXEMBOURG TAJIKISTAN CONGO MADAGASCAR THAILAND COSTA RICA MALAWI THE FORMER YUGOSLAV CÔTE D’IVOIRE MALAYSIA REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA CROATIA MALI TUNISIA CUBA MALTA TURKEY CYPRUS MARSHALL ISLANDS UGANDA CZECH REPUBLIC MAURITANIA UKRAINE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC MAURITIUS UNITED ARAB EMIRATES OF THE CONGO MEXICO DENMARK MONACO UNITED KINGDOM OF DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MONGOLIA GREAT BRITAIN AND ECUADOR MONTENEGRO NORTHERN IRELAND EGYPT MOROCCO UNITED REPUBLIC EL SALVADOR MOZAMBIQUE OF TANZANIA ERITREA MYANMAR UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ESTONIA NAMIBIA URUGUAY ETHIOPIA NEPAL UZBEKISTAN FINLAND NETHERLANDS VENEZUELA FRANCE NEW ZEALAND VIETNAM GABON NICARAGUA YEMEN GEORGIA NIGER ZAMBIA GERMANY NIGERIA ZIMBABWE The Agency’s Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the IAEA held at United Nations Headquarters, New York; it entered into force on 29 July 1957. The Headquarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is “to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world’’. SAFETY REPORTS SERIES No. 68 RADIATION PROTECTION AND NORM RESIDUE MANAGEMENT IN THE PRODUCTION OF RARE EARTHS FROM THORIUM CONTAINING MINERALS INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY VIENNA, 2011 COPYRIGHT NOTICE All IAEA scientific and technical publications are protected by the terms of the Universal Copyright Convention as adopted in 1952 (Berne) and as revised in 1972 (Paris). The copyright has since been extended by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Geneva) to include electronic and virtual intellectual property. Permission to use whole or parts of texts contained in IAEA publications in printed or electronic form must be obtained and is usually subject to royalty agreements. Proposals for non-commercial reproductions and translations are welcomed and considered on a case-by-case basis. Enquiries should be addressed to the IAEA Publishing Section at: Marketing and Sales Unit, Publishing Section International Atomic Energy Agency Vienna International Centre PO Box 100 1400 Vienna, Austria fax: +43 1 2600 29302 tel.: +43 1 2600 22417 email: [email protected] http://www.iaea.org/books © IAEA, 2011 Printed by the IAEA in Austria August 2011 STI/PUB/1512 IAEA Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Radiation protection and norm residue management in the production of rare earths from thorium containing minerals. — Vienna : International Atomic Energy Agency, 2011. p. ; 24 cm. — (Safety reports series, ISSN 1020–6450 ; no. 68) STI/PUB/1512 ISBN 978–92–0–115710–2 Includes bibliographical references. 1. Radiation protection. 2. Radiation — Safety measures. 3. Safety standards. I. International Atomic Energy Agency. II. Series. IAEAL 11–00698 FOREWORD The IAEA Fundamental Safety Principles (IAEA Safety Standards Series No. SF-1), together with the International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources (Safety Series No. 115), set out the principles and basic requirements for radiation protection and safety applicable to all activities involving radiation exposure, including exposure to natural sources of radiation. The Safety Guides on Occupational Radiation Protection in the Mining and Processing of Raw Materials (IAEA Safety Standards Series No. RS-G-1.6) and Management of Radioactive Waste from the Mining and Milling of Ores (IAEA Safety Standards Series No. WS-G-1.2) provide guidance on the control of exposure of workers and members of the public to naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) in industrial activities involving the exploitation of minerals. This guidance applies whether or not minerals are exploited for their radioactivity content. The exploitation of thorium containing minerals for rare earths production constitutes one of several industry sectors for which the radioactivity content of the minerals and raw materials involved is high enough to warrant consideration by a regulatory body concerning the possible need to control exposures to workers and members of the public. This Safety Report has been developed as part of the IAEA’s programme for the application of its safety standards in the fields of radiation, transport and waste safety. It is a compilation of detailed information on the processes and materials involved in the exploitation of thorium containing minerals for rare earths production and on the radiological considerations that need to be taken into account by a regulatory body when determining the nature and extent of radiation protection measures to be taken.