Importance of redox interface regarding the fate and behaviour of radium in surface water impacted by NORM

Mathilde Zebracki (1) , M Bonczyk (2) , I Chmielewska (2) , Olivier Diez (1) , M Wysocka (2) , Charlotte Cazala (1)

1 IRSN/PSE-ENV/SEDRE/LELI - Laboratoire de recherche sur le devenir des pollutions de sites radioactifs
2 GIG - Główny Instytut Górnictwa

Usual approach to remove radium from industrial wastewater consists in the co-precipitation of radium with barium. Although barite is being known as a highly insoluble phase, it is also suspected to be dissolved under sulphate-reducing conditions. Our study focused on the interactions occurring at the water-sediment interface of a former settling pond operated by the coal mining industry of the Upper Silesia Coal Basin (USCB), Silesia, Poland. Based on sediment composition and pore water analysis our results provided new insight for studying the fate and behaviour of radium in a NORM storage reservoir evolving towards a natural ecosystem.

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement

Mathilde Zebracki, M Bonczyk, I Chmielewska, Olivier Diez, M Wysocka, et al.. Importance of redox interface regarding the fate and behaviour of radium in surface water impacted by NORM. Ninth international symposium on naturally occurring radioactive material, Sep 2019, Denver, United States. ⟨irsn-03860897⟩