Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad, 826 004, India.
Environ Monit Assess. 2023 Feb 15;195(3):400. doi: 10.1007/s10661-023-10952-0.
This paper presents a comparative study of the quantitative estimation of Rn and its health risk from various sources in four underground uranium mines. Rn exhalation rates from uranium-bearing rocks and backfill materials were estimated by calculating the Rn concentration accumulated in an enclosed chamber into which radon was exhaled. This comparative study indicates a more significant effect of porosity on the exhalation rates. Dissolved Rn in mine water was estimated using scintillation cell and bubbler kit. The discrepancy in Rn concentration in the mines might be attributed to the variation in geological features, ore grade, and porosity. This study revealed that the maximum radon exposure was produced from the backfill mill tailings, followed by uranium ore and mine water in the mines. The radon dose values in the individual mines remained under the safe dose limit of 20 mSv year. The excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) and Rn-induced lung cancer cases (RnLCC) per million persons per year were also estimated.
本文对四个地下铀矿中来自不同源的 Rn 的定量估算及其健康风险进行了对比研究。通过计算封闭室内累积的氡排放量，估算了含铀岩石和回填材料的 Rn 排放率。这项对比研究表明，孔隙度对排放率的影响更为显著。使用闪烁室和吹泡仪套件估算了矿水中溶解的 Rn。矿山中 Rn 浓度的差异可能归因于地质特征、矿石品位和孔隙度的变化。本研究表明，最大的氡辐射暴露来自回填矿渣，其次是铀矿石和矿山水中的氡。各个矿山的氡剂量值仍低于 20 mSv 年的安全剂量限值。每年每百万人的超额寿命癌症风险（ELCR）和氡诱发的肺癌病例（RnLCC）也进行了估算。
