Integrated methodology for the environmental risk assessment of an abandoned uranium mining site

Abstract

We developed an integrated approach to evaluate quantitatively the fundamental data required to perform a risk assessment induced by the existence of uranium mine tailings disposals or any other form of low activity waste storage. From the characteristics of the radioactive sources the different types of possible releases are evaluated using phenomenological models. The concentrations in the main environmental compartments are deduced. To this data we apply models of environmental transport, dispersion and fate within each environmental compartment, as well as models of inter-compartment transfer. The activity is then predieted at predefined exposition locations, in each environment compartment. Models of transfer to the food chain were also developed allowing to estimate concentration of different radioisotopes in all the media. This data, complemented with an exposure scenario, allows a quantitative environmental risk assessment.