An evaluation of health risk to the public as a consequence of in situ uranium mining in Wyoming, USA

Journal Article · Sun Aug 30 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2015.08.004· OSTI ID:1227719

Ruedig, Elizabeth  ^[1]; Johnson, Thomas E. ^[2]

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1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
2. Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)

In the United States there is considerable public concern regarding the health effects of in situ recovery uranium mining. These concerns focus principally on exposure to contaminants mobilized in groundwater by the mining process. However, the risk arising as a result of mining must be viewed in light of the presence of naturally occurring uranium ore and other constituents which comprise a latent hazard. The United States Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed new guidelines for successful restoration of an in situ uranium mine by limiting concentrations of thirteen groundwater constituents: arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, selenium, silver, nitrate (as nitrogen), molybdenum, radium, total uranium, and gross α activity. We investigated the changes occurring to these constituents at an ISR uranium mine in Wyoming, USA by comparing groundwater quality at baseline measurement to that at stability (post-restoration) testing. Of the groundwater constituents considered, only uranium and radium-226 showed significant (p < 0.05) deviation from site-wide baseline conditions in matched-wells. Uranium concentrations increased by a factor of 5.6 (95% CI 3.6–8.9 times greater) while radium-226 decreased by a factor of about one half (95% CI 0.42–0.75 times less). Change in risk was calculated using the RESRAD (onsite) code for an individual exposed as a resident-farmer; total radiation dose to a resident farmer decreased from pre-to post-mining by about 5.2 mSv y^–1. As a result, higher concentrations of uranium correspond to increased biomarkers of nephrotoxicity, however the clinical significance of this increase is unclear.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: AC52-06NA25396
• OSTI ID: 1227719
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-15-26694; PII: S0265931X1530076X
• Journal Information: Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, Vol. 150, Issue C; ISSN 0265-931X
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
uranium
mining
environmental impacts
risk assessment