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PLANNING RADIOLOGICAL RISK MITIGATION FOR REMEDIATION OF ABANDONED URANIUM MINE SITES
Petelina, E., D. Sanscartier, and A. Klyashtorin. | RemTech 2019: Remediation Technologies Symposium, 16-18 October, Banff, 16 slides, 2019
A radiological risk mitigation approach was implemented in the remediation of 35 legacy uranium mine sites in northern Saskatchewan. Mining activities resulted in an irregular increase of gamma radiation dose rate up to 18 µS/hr above the regulatory requirements. Radiological objectives (ROs) included a dose rate averaged over a hectare (<1 µS/hr above local background) and spot gamma dose rate (<2.5 µS/hr above local background). While ROs at uranium mines are usually achieved by installing a soil cover, this is impractical for areas of rough terrain or difficult access. The risk mitigation approach determines if these areas could be safely left as is or if additional mitigation measures are needed. The method is based on the ambient radiation dose rates collected through gamma surveys and actual land use data collected through various surveys of traditional and casual activities of local community members. Exposure scenarios for four hypothetical land uses are applied to estimate a potential annual dose load for members of the public. They are compared to a criterion of 0.3 mSv/a. If the criterion is not satisfied, a mitigation plan is developed, and post-remediation gamma levels are modeled using GIS tools to evaluate the performance of the proposed mitigations. The proposed approach can optimize resources for site remediation and ensure that public exposure to naturally-occurring radioactive material is as low as reasonably achievable after remediation. https://www.esaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/19-Sanscartier.pdf
A radiological risk mitigation approach was implemented in the remediation of 35 legacy uranium mine sites in northern Saskatchewan. Mining activities resulted in an irregular increase of gamma radiation dose rate up to 18 µS/hr above the regulatory requirements. Radiological objectives (ROs) included a dose rate averaged over a hectare (<1 µS/hr above local background) and spot gamma dose rate (<2.5 µS/hr above local background). While ROs at uranium mines are usually achieved by installing a soil cover, this is impractical for areas of rough terrain or difficult access. The risk mitigation approach determines if these areas could be safely left as is or if additional mitigation measures are needed. The method is based on the ambient radiation dose rates collected through gamma surveys and actual land use data collected through various surveys of traditional and casual activities of local community members. Exposure scenarios for four hypothetical land uses are applied to estimate a potential annual dose load for members of the public. They are compared to a criterion of 0.3 mSv/a. If the criterion is not satisfied, a mitigation plan is developed, and post-remediation gamma levels are modeled using GIS tools to evaluate the performance of the proposed mitigations. The proposed approach can optimize resources for site remediation and ensure that public exposure to naturally-occurring radioactive material is as low as reasonably achievable after remediation. https://www.esaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/19-Sanscartier.pdf
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