Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Atomic & Nuclear Physics Laboratory, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece.
J Environ Radioact. 2010 Mar;101(3):191-200. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2009.11.006. Epub 2009 Dec 14.
Coal, like most materials found in nature, contains trace quantities of the naturally occurring primordial radionuclides, i.e. of (40)K and of (238)U, (232)Th and their decay products. Therefore, the combustion of coal results in the released into the environment of some natural radioactivity (1.48 TBq y(-1)), the major part of which (99%) escapes as very fine particles, while the rest in fly ash. The activity concentrations of natural radionuclides measured in coals originated from coal mines in Greece varied from 117 to 435 Bq kg(-1) for (238)U, from 44 to 255 Bq kg(-1) for (226)Ra, from 59 to 205 Bq kg(-1) for (210)Pb, from 9 to 41 Bq kg(-1) for (228)Ra ((232)Th) and from 59 to 227 Bq kg(-1) for (40)K. Fly ash escapes from the stacks of coal-fired power plants in a percentage of 3-1% of the total fly ash, in the better case. The natural radionuclide concentrations measured in fly ash produced and retained or escaped from coal-fired power plants in Greece varied from 263 to 950 Bq kg(-1) for (238)U, from 142 to 605 Bq kg(-1) for (226)Ra, from 133 to 428 Bq kg(-1) for (210)Pb, from 27 to 68 Bq kg(-1) for (228)Ra ((232)Th) and from 204 to 382 Bq kg(-1) for (40)K. About 5% of the total ash produced in the coal-fired power plants is used as substitute of cement in concrete for the construction of dwellings, and may affect indoor radiation doses from external irradiation and the inhalation of radon decay products (internal irradiation) is the most significant. The resulting normalized collective effective doses were 6 and 0.5man-Sv(GWa)(-1) for typical old and modern coal-fired power plants, respectively.
煤炭与自然界中发现的大多数物质一样，含有痕量的天然放射性核素，即 (40)K、(238)U、(232)Th 及其衰变产物。因此，煤炭燃烧会导致一些天然放射性物质释放到环境中（1.48TBq y(-1)），其中大部分（99%）以非常细的颗粒形式逸出，其余则存在于飞灰中。在希腊的煤矿中测量的天然放射性核素的活度浓度变化范围为：(238)U 为 117-435 Bq kg(-1)，(226)Ra 为 44-255 Bq kg(-1)，(210)Pb 为 59-205 Bq kg(-1)，(228)Ra((232)Th)为 9-41 Bq kg(-1)，(40)K 为 59-227 Bq kg(-1)。在更好的情况下，燃煤电厂的烟囱会将 3-1%的总飞灰排放到大气中。在希腊，从燃煤电厂产生并保留或逸出的飞灰中测量的天然放射性核素浓度变化范围为：(238)U 为 263-950 Bq kg(-1)，(226)Ra 为 142-605 Bq kg(-1)，(210)Pb 为 133-428 Bq kg(-1)，(228)Ra((232)Th)为 27-68 Bq kg(-1)，(40)K 为 204-382 Bq kg(-1)。在燃煤电厂中，约有 5%的总灰分被用作混凝土中的水泥替代品，用于住宅建设，可能会影响来自外部照射的室内辐射剂量，而氡衰变产物的吸入（内部照射）是最重要的。对于典型的老旧和现代燃煤电厂，相应的归一化集体有效剂量分别为 6 和 0.5man-Sv(GWa)(-1)。
