Contamination of the Human Food Chain by Uranium Mill Tailings Piles

Technical Report · Sun Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1979

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6186958· OSTI ID:6186958

Holtzman, R. B. ^[1]; Urnezis, P. W. ^[1]; Padova, A. ^[1]; Bobula, III, C. M. ^[1]

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1. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

A study is in progress to estimate the contamination of the human food chain by uranium, ²³⁰Th, ²²⁶Ra, ²¹⁰Pb, and ²¹⁰Po originating from tailing piles associated with uranium ore processing mills. Rabbits, cattle, vegetables, and grass were collected on or near two uranium mill sites. For controls, similar samples were obtained from areas 20 km or more from the mining and mill operations. For the onsite rabbits the mean ²²⁶Ra concentrations in muscle, lung, and kidney of 5.5, 14, and 15 pCi/kg wet, respectively, were substantially higher than those in the respective tissues of control animals (0.4, 1.5, and 0.2 pCi/kg). The levels in liver did not differ significantly between the groups. The concentrations in bone (femur and vertebra) were about 9000 and 350 pCi/kg ash for the onsite and offsite animals, respectively. The levels of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po did not differ significantly for a given tissue between the two groups, except that the ²¹⁰Pb level in the kidney was greater in the onsite group. For cattle, the concentrations in muscle, liver, and kidney do not differ greatly between those grazed near the pile and the controls. The levels of ²²⁶Ra, and possibly of ²¹⁰Pb, appear to be greater in the femur of the animals near the piles. Vegetables from a residential area on a mill site contained substantially greater concentrations of ²²⁶Ra and ²¹⁰Pb than those reported for standard New York City diets. Grass and cattle dung from land irrigated by water containing 60 pCi/L ²²⁶Ra from uranium mines had concentrations of ²²⁶Ra and ²¹⁰Pb 50 and 8 times, respectively, those in control samples. It is estimated that doubling the normal concentrations in meat and vegetables of uranium and daughter products could increase the dose equivalent rates to the skeletons of persons consuming these foods by 30 or more mrem/yr.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USNRC
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 6186958
• Report Number(s): NUREG/CR--0758; ANL/ES--69
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
ANIMALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BODY
CATTLE
CONTAMINATION
DATA
DATA FORMS
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DIET
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
DISSOLUTION
DOMESTIC ANIMALS
DOSE EQUIVALENTS
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ECOSYSTEMS
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE PATHWAY
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FEMUR
FOOD
FOOD CHAINS
GLANDS
GRASS
HEAVY NUCLEI
HUMAN POPULATIONS
INFORMATION
ISOTOPES
KIDNEYS
LEACHING
LEAD 210
LEAD ISOTOPES
LIVER
LUNGS
MAMMALS
MASS TRANSFER
MILL TAILINGS
MONITORING
MUSCLES
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
ORE PROCESSING
ORES
ORGANS
PLANTS
POLONIUM 210
POLONIUM ISOTOPES
POPULATIONS
PROCESSING
RABBITS
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIOACTIVITY
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIONUCLIDE KINETICS
RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION
RADIUM 226
RADIUM ISOTOPES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
RUMINANTS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SKELETON
SOLID WASTES
TABLES
TAILINGS
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
THORIUM 230
THORIUM ISOTOPES
URANIUM 238
URANIUM ISOTOPES
URANIUM ORES
VEGETABLES
VERTEBRAE
VERTEBRATES
WASTES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES