Estimation of Inhaled Effective Doses of Uranium and Thorium for Workers in Bayan Obo Ore and the Surrounding Public, Inner Mongolia, China

Yao Zhang, Xianzhang Shao, Liangliang Yin and Yanqin Ji
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Yao Zhang: China CDC Key Laboratory of Radiological Protection and Nuclear Emergency, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Radiological Protection, Beijing 100088, China
Xianzhang Shao: China CDC Key Laboratory of Radiological Protection and Nuclear Emergency, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Radiological Protection, Beijing 100088, China
Liangliang Yin: China CDC Key Laboratory of Radiological Protection and Nuclear Emergency, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Radiological Protection, Beijing 100088, China
Yanqin Ji: China CDC Key Laboratory of Radiological Protection and Nuclear Emergency, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Radiological Protection, Beijing 100088, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 3, 1-8

Abstract: Uranium and thorium are two common natural radioactive elements with high concentrations in Earth’s crust. The main aim of this study is to estimate the inhaled effective dose of uranium and thorium caused by a typical radioactive rare earth ore to the occupational population and the surrounding public. The particulate matter (PM) concentrations in the atmosphere of four typical workplaces and one surrounding living area were obtained by a high-flow sampling equipment with a natural cellulose filter membrane. The critical parameter for the inhaled effective dose estimation—the activity median aerodynamic diameter (AMAD)—was determined. The AMAD values of uranium and thorium in the atmosphere PM were 3.36 and 3.64 μm, respectively. The estimated median effective dose caused by inhalation thorium among the occupational population ranged from 15.3 to 269.0 μSv/a, and the corresponding value for the surrounding public was 2.3 μSv/a. All values for the effective dose caused by the inhalation of uranium were in the nSv magnitude.

Keywords: occupational exposure; particulate matter; radioactive elements; inhaled effective dose (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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