Occurrence and Distribution of Uranium in a Hydrological Cycle around a Uranium Mill Tailings Pond, Southern China

Wenjie Ma, Bai Gao, Yadan Guo, Zhanxue Sun, Yanhong Zhang, Gongxin Chen, Xiaojie Zhu and Chunyan Zhang
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Wenjie Ma: Fundamental Science on Radioactive Geology and Exploration Technology Laboratory, East China University of Technology, NanChang 330013, China
Bai Gao: Fundamental Science on Radioactive Geology and Exploration Technology Laboratory, East China University of Technology, NanChang 330013, China
Yadan Guo: Fundamental Science on Radioactive Geology and Exploration Technology Laboratory, East China University of Technology, NanChang 330013, China
Zhanxue Sun: Fundamental Science on Radioactive Geology and Exploration Technology Laboratory, East China University of Technology, NanChang 330013, China
Yanhong Zhang: Fundamental Science on Radioactive Geology and Exploration Technology Laboratory, East China University of Technology, NanChang 330013, China
Gongxin Chen: Fundamental Science on Radioactive Geology and Exploration Technology Laboratory, East China University of Technology, NanChang 330013, China
Xiaojie Zhu: Fundamental Science on Radioactive Geology and Exploration Technology Laboratory, East China University of Technology, NanChang 330013, China
Chunyan Zhang: Fundamental Science on Radioactive Geology and Exploration Technology Laboratory, East China University of Technology, NanChang 330013, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-11

Abstract: Uranium (U) mining activities, which lead to contamination in soils and waters (i.e., leachate from U mill tailings), cause serious environmental problems. However, limited research works have been conducted on U pollution associated with a whole soil-water system. In this study, a total of 110 samples including 96 solid and 14 water samples were collected to investigate the characteristics of U distribution in a natural soil-water system near a U mining tailings pond. Results showed that U concentrations ranged from 0.09 ± 0.02 mg/kg to 2.56 × 10 4 ± 23 mg/kg in solid samples, and varied greatly in different locations. For tailings sand samples, the highest U concentration (2.56× 10 4 ± 23 mg/kg) occurred at the depth of 80 cm underground, whereas, for paddy soil samples, the highest U concentration (5.22 ± 0.04 mg/kg) was found at surface layers. Geo-accumulation index and potential ecological hazard index were calculated to assess the hazard of U in the soils. The calculation results showed that half of the soil sampling sites were moderately polluted. For groundwater samples, U concentrations ranged from 0.55 ± 0.04 mg/L to 3.36 ± 0.02 mg/L with a mean value of 2.36 ± 0.36 mg/L, which was significantly lower than that of percolating waters (ranging from 4.56 ± 0.02 mg/L to 12.05 ± 0.04 mg/L, mean 7.91 ± 0.98 mg/L). The results of this study suggest that the distribution of U concentrations in a soil-water system was closely associated with hydrological cycles and U concentrations decreased with circulation path.

Keywords: water–rock interactions; critical zones; uranium contamination; Aquifer; hazard assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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