Uranium and its decay products in samples contaminated with uranium mine and mill waste

Abstract
The routine determination of the activity concentrations of uranium isotopes ( ²³⁸U, ²³⁵U and ²³⁴U), thorium isotopes ( ²¹²Th, ²³⁰TI, and ²²⁸Th), ²³¹Pa, ²²⁶Ra, ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po in the environment is one of the most important tasks in uranium mining areas. Natural radionuclides contribute negligibly to the extemal radiation dose, but in the case of ingestion or inhalation can represent a very serious hazard. The objective of this study was to determine the activities of uranium and its decay products ²³⁰Th, ²³¹Pa, ²²⁶Ra, ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po in sediments and water below sources of contamination (uranium mine, disposal sites and individual inflows) using gamma and alpha spectrometry, beta counting, the liquid scintillation technique and radiochemical neutron activation analysis.