Uranium mill tailings and radon

Technical Report · Wed Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1981

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6483832· OSTI ID:6483832

Hanchey, L A

The major health hazard from uranium mill tailings is presumed to be respiratory cancer resulting from the inhalation of radon daughter products. A review of studies on inhalation of radon and its daughters indicates that the hazard from the tailings is extremely small. If the assumptions used in the studies are correct, one or two people per year in the United States may develop cancer as a result of radon exhaled from all the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action program sites. The remedial action should reduce the hazard from the tailings by a factor of about 100.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 6483832
• Report Number(s): SAND-80-2142(Rev.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

054000* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Health & Safety
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
560151 -- Radiation Effects on Animals-- Man
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
DAUGHTER PRODUCTS
DISEASES
DOCUMENT TYPES
ELEMENTS
FLUIDS
GASES
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
INHALATION
INTAKE
ISOTOPES
MILL TAILINGS
NEOPLASMS
NONMETALS
RADIATION HAZARDS
RADON
RARE GASES
REVIEWS
RISK ASSESSMENT
SOLID WASTES
STANDARDS
TAILINGS
WASTES