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HERO ID
5019651
Reference Type
Journal Article
Title
Estimation of radon release rate for an underground uranium mine ventilation shaft in China and radon distribution characteristics
Author(s)
Zhou, Q; Liu, S; Xu, L; Zhang, H; Xiao, D; Deng, J; Pan, Z
Year
2019
Is Peer Reviewed?
Yes
Journal
Journal of Environmental Radioactivity
ISSN:
0265-931X
EISSN:
1879-1700
Volume
198
Page Numbers
18-26
Language
English
PMID
30576899
DOI
10.1016/j.jenvrad.2018.12.010
Web of Science Id
WOS:000457667600003
Abstract
Radon, known to be a human carcinogen, is one of the most concerned radionuclides in uranium mining which need to be monitored and controlled. A large amount of radon is discharged to the atmosphere mainly through underground ventilation shafts for underground uranium mining. There are many studies on radon release of uranium mine, but the differences of the measured radon results are very big. In this paper, a typical underground uranium mine in China is chosen as a case study. This study finds that distribution of radon concentration and airflow speed inside the ventilation shaft are extremely uneven, but the distributions are respectively stable and regular for a fixed cross-section at the wellhead depth of 0-1 m. There is also a stable numerical relationship between the radon release rate and the product of radon concentration and airflow speed at the center for any cross-section in the shaft. Based on this regulation, a multipoint interpolation-integration method and a one-point method for calculating radon release from underground ventilation shaft are proposed in this paper. The results show that the difference between these two methods is 2-10%, the one-point method is more suitable and convenient to be applied for the long-term monitoring radon release rate from uranium mine ventilation. The research results in this paper can be applied in the estimation of radon release rate for other underground uranium ventilation shafts.
Tags
IRIS
•
Uranium
Pubmed
Uranium Literature Search Update 4/2020
PubMed
WOS
•
Uranium Toxicological Review
Date limited literature search 2011-2021
WOS
Pubmed
Scopus
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