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.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jan 22;18(3):987. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18030987.
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.
铀和钍是地壳中浓度较高的两种常见天然放射性元素。本研究的主要目的是估算典型放射性稀土矿石对职业人群和周围公众吸入铀和钍的有效剂量。使用高流量采样设备和天然纤维素滤膜获得了四个典型工作场所和一个周围生活区域的大气中颗粒物（PM）浓度。确定了吸入有效剂量估算的关键参数-空气动力学直径中值（AMAD）。大气 PM 中铀和钍的 AMAD 值分别为 3.36 和 3.64 μm。职业人群吸入钍引起的中位有效剂量估计值在 15.3 至 269.0 μSv/a 之间，周围公众的相应值为 2.3 μSv/a。所有由吸入铀引起的有效剂量值均处于纳希沃特（nSv）量级。
