Integrated assessmet of the impacts associated with uranium mining and milling

Technical Report · Sun Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1979

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6014514· OSTI ID:6014514

Parzyck, D. C.; Baes, III, C. F.; Berry, L. G.

The occupational health and safety impacts are assessed for domestic underground mining, open pit mining, and milling. Public health impacts are calculated for a population of 53,000 located within 88 km (55 miles) of a typical southwestern uranium mill. The collective annual dose would be 6.5 man-lung rem/year, 89% of which is from /sup 222/Rn emitted from mill tailings. The dose to the United States population is estimated to be 6 x 10/sup 4/ man-lung rem from combined mining and milling operations. This may be comparedd with 5.7 x 10/sup 5/ man-lung rem from domestic use of natural gas and 4.4 x 10/sup 7/ man-lung rem from building interiors. Unavoidable adverse environmental impacts appear to be severe in a 250 ha area surrounding a mill site but negligible in the entire potentially impacted area (500,000 ha). The contemporary uranium resource and supply industry and its institutional settings are described in relation to the socio-economic impacts likely to emerge from high levels of uranium mining and milling. Radon and radon daughter monitoring techniques associated with uranium mining and milling are discussed.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• OSTI ID: 6014514
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-6677
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050400 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Feed Processing
054000* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
ECOLOGY
ECONOMIC IMPACT
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FEED MATERIALS PLANTS
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
MACHINING
MILL TAILINGS
MILLING
MINES
MONITORING
NONMETALS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
RADIATION MONITORING
RADON
RARE GASES
SOCIAL IMPACT
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS
SOLID WASTES
TAILINGS
URANIUM MINES
WASTES