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RA-226 Radioassay of Soil and Tailings*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2011

Cabmen S. Sabau ,
Donald R. Rayno ,
Norbert D. Kretz  and
Phillip W. Zelle
Cabmen S. Sabau
Affiliation:
Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Argonne, IL 60439
Donald R. Rayno
Affiliation:
Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Argonne, IL 60439
Norbert D. Kretz
Affiliation:
Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Argonne, IL 60439
Phillip W. Zelle
Affiliation:
Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Argonne, IL 60439
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Abstract

Studies of inactive uranium tailings piles have shown that tailings sands containing Ra-226 and other radionuclides may be dispersed by wind and water erosion, causing contamination of adjacent areas. To conduct an effective cleanup operation, it is necessary that boundaries of contamination be well defined. To accomplish this, data from surface gamma-ray surveys made under the Measurement Monitoring Program of the U.S. DOE's Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project (UMTRAP) are first used to delineate a general outline of the contaminated area. Then, data fram portable scintillometer surveys and fran sealed-can gammaray analyses of soil samples are used to more precisely define the perimeter of Ra-226 contamination. These field measurements are supported by radiochemical analyses of randomly selected samples. Because of its adaptability to the widely varying chemical composition of the material in these samples, the camplexing agent EDTA is used in a complexometric leaching procedure to analyze Ra-226. By this procedure, natural concentrations of Ra-226 in soil (∼1 pCi/g) can be measured routinely. The potential limit of detection is in the 0.1–0.5 pCi/g range. Details of the method, which includes leaching of radium followed by radon de-eranation, are described. Comparative data for various soil and tailings samples are presented.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 15: Symposium D – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management VI , 1982 , 647
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1983

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Footnotes

*

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Program under contract W–31–109–Eng–38.

References

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