Natural radioactivity level in fly ash samples and radiological hazard at the landfill area of the coal-fired power plant complex, Vietnam

Radioecological perspective: The concentration of natural radionuclides around the coast of PLTU Labuan

The utilization of coal in Power Plants (PLTUs) can lead to the generation of fly ash waste, which may contain natural radionuclides that can potentially contaminate the surrounding environment. Despite Labuan PLTU's land-coastal location, marine environment monitoring remains minimal. A recent study conducted sediment and seawater sampling, revealing varying levels of natural radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K ranging from 3.4 to 27.5 Bq kg-1, 3.9 to 34.9 Bq kg-1, and 64.0 to 275.0 Bq kg-1 in sediments, respectively. Meanwhile, the activity concentration of natural radionuclides 226Ra and 232Th in seawater ranges from 0.5 to 1.1 Bq L-1 to 0.7-1.5 Bq L-1, respectively. These findings provide baseline data for marine radiation levels around PLTU Labuan. Additionally, risk assessments were conducted, indicating Raeq, Hin, and Hex ranges of 13.80-91.00 Bq kg-1, 0.04-0.25, and 0.05-0.31, respectively. The study concludes that Labuan's radiation levels are within safe limits for exposure.

Evaluation of radiological health risk caused by the use of fly ash in cement and concrete production and its storage

As a result of firing pulverized coal in thermal power plants, enormous amounts of fly ash (FA) are produced as industrial waste. The release into the atmosphere and storage of this industrial waste remains one of the major environmental problems that threaten human health by contributing to air, water, and soil pollution. The recovery and reuse of FA in the construction industry is the only economic solution to the existing problem. In this study, the potential radiological risk caused by the usage of FA in concrete and cement production as a main component and its storage in landfill sites was evaluated for people and works by estimating radiological parameters (activity concentration and alpha index, annual effective doses, and the corresponding excess lifetime cancer risks) based on activity concentrations of terrestrial radionuclides in FA. Also, the radiological risk to the workers working in the FA landfill site was evaluated using the Residual Radioactivity Onsite 7.2 code. The average activity concentrations of terrestrial radionuclides in FA samples from the Tunçbilek lignite coal-fired thermal power plant at Kütahya province of Turkey were measured as 417, 156 and 454 Bq kg-1 for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K, respectively. When using up to 35% by mass of FA in cement and concrete, the average values of the radiological parameters revealed that they were within the recommended safety limits. However, code estimations showed that a regular worker in FA storage would be exposed to a total effective dose rate greater than 3 mSv y-1.

Efficacy of zeolites in radon adsorption: state of the art and development of an optimized approach

Radon is a radioactive noble gas omnipresent in the environment, being part of the 238U and 232Th decay chains present in the Earth's crust. The gas can easily leak through the ground but also be present in natural construction materials and migrate into indoor places where it can be a carcinogen when inhaled. Studying the content and removal of indoor radon is crucial for the evaluation and mitigation of its radiological risks to public health. For more than 100 years, the removal by adsorption of the radon has been performed on activated charcoal. There is little progress in the field of radon adsorption at ambient conditions; the main progress is in the use of zeolite materials, having well-defined three-dimensional porous structures and radiation resistance. This study concerns a report on the state of the art of the application of zeolites in radon adsorption. Furthermore, an optimized approach for measuring the radon content in indoor environments and, consequently, its removal has been proposed. Adsorption systems based on zeolites have the potential to replace activated charcoal as a material of choice, allowing to facilitate the development of simple and compact radon adsorption systems.

Radon exhalation characteristics after pyrolysis of long flame coal

Coal pyrolysis is a important method for classifying and utilizing coal resources and contributes to enhanced comprehensive resource utilization. However, In high-temperature areas such as coal pyrolysis, there is an abnormal phenomenon release of radioactive gas radon, understanding the relationship between temperature and radon exhalation characteristics, as well as the underlying mechanisms, holds great importance for assessing radon pollution in mining areas. After coal undergoes pyrolysis under high temperature conditions, its material composition, pore structure, water content, and other properties have changed. The pyrolysis products in different atmosphere environments have differences, and the characteristics of radon emission are also different. To address this, the present study conducted coal pyrolysis experiments in both aerobic and anaerobic environments, using long flame coal sourced from Yulin, China. The radon release concentration of the pyrolysis products was measured. The research findings indicate that during pyrolysis at elevated temperatures, the ratio of coal mass loss is constantly increasing. High temperatures promote the development of pores and fissures, and significant changes in coal properties at temperature thresholds (300 °C and 500 °C). The specific surface area, pore volume, and fracture ratio all display substantial increases, and the amplitude of change is greater under aerobic conditions. The fractal dimension of total pores and macropores shows continuous growth, while the specific surface area, pore volume, and fracture ratio exhibit a strong negative correlation with the radon emission rate of pyrolysis products. The expansion and penetration of pores and cracks, along with the release of a substantial amount of pyrolysis gas, accelerate the transformation, migration, and exhalation of radon, resulting in a negative correlation between the heat treatment temperature and the radon release rate of pyrolysis products. Under aerobic conditions, the radon release rate of pyrolysis products decreases more significantly.

Environmental investigation on the use of a phosphogypsum-based road material: Radiological and leaching assessment

The transformation of phosphate ore into phosphoric acid results in the generation of high volumes of phosphogypsum (PG), an industrial by-product largely stockpiled worldwide. This solution, considered as the least damaging to the environment, constitutes a risk for the receiving environment due to the presence of harmful impurities such as heavy metals and radionuclides which hinder its large-scale valorization. This paper presents an environmental characterization of Moroccan phosphogypsum and an investigation on the environmental performance of a new lime (L) - fly ash (FA) treated phosphogypsum based road material. The concentration of metallic trace elements (Cr, Pb, Ni, Zn, Cu) in raw phosphogypsum ranged between 0.2 and 243 ppm, while its radioactivity reached 970 Bq/kg for Ra-226. The environmental performance of the proposed new road material (40% PG, 42% FA, 18% L) was evaluated using radiological risk indices besides static and dynamic leaching tests. The results showed a radioactivity reduction up to 82%, and an immobilization of metallic trace elements ranging from 25 to 100%. The stabilization/solidification mechanisms involved in the lime - fly ash treatment would be responsible for the fixation of these contaminants within the newly formed matrix.

Preliminary Screening of Soils Natural Radioactivity and Metal(loid) Content in a Decommissioned Rare Earth Elements Processing Plant, Guangdong, China

Radiological aspects such as natural radioactivity of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ²²⁶Ra, ⁴⁰K combined with potentially toxic metal(loid) (PTM) distribution features were seldom simultaneously investigated in rare earth element (REE) processing activities. This work was designed to investigate the distribution levels of natural radioactivity, air-absorbed dose rate of γ radiation as well as PTMs at a typical REE plant in Guangdong, China. Ambient soils around REE processing facilities were sampled, measured and assessed. The natural radioactivity of radionuclides of the samples was determined using a high-purity germanium γ-energy spectrometer while the air-absorbed dose rate of γ radiation was measured at a height of 1 m above the ground using a portable radiometric detector. The PTM content was measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results showed that the specific activities of the radionuclides ranged from 80.8 to 1990.2, 68.2 to 6935.0, 78.4 to 14,372.4, and 625.4 to 2698.4 Bq·kg^-1 for ²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K, respectively, representing overwhelmingly higher activity concentrations than worldwide soil average natural radioactivity. The radium equivalent activity and external hazard index of most samples exceeded the limits of 370 Bq·kg^-1 and 1, respectively. The measured air-absorbed dose rate of γ radiation was in a range of 113~4004 nGy·h^-1, with most sites displaying comparatively higher values than that from some other REE-associated industrial sites referenced. The content levels of PTMs of Cu, Ni, Zn, Mn, Pb, Cd, Cr, and As were 0.7~37.2, 1.8~16.9, 20.4~2070.5, 39.4~431.3, 2.3~1411.5, 0.1~0.7, 6.7~526.1, and 59.5~263.8 mg·kg^-1, respectively. It is important to note that the PTM contents in the studied soil samples were 2.1~5.4 times higher for Zn-As and 1.4 times higher for Pb than the third level of the China soil standard while 2.5~13 times higher for Zn-As and 1.2 times higher for Pb than Canadian industry standard. The findings call for subsequent site remediation to secure the ecological environment and human health after the REE processing plant was decommissioned.