The Environmental Behaviour of Radium

612 Pages·2010·28.06 MB·English

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TECHNICAL REPORTS SERIES No,
The Environmental Behaviour
of Radium
Vol.1
im
\®pj INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, VIENNA, 1990

THE ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOUR
OF RADIUM
VOLUME 1
The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency:
AFGHANISTAN HAITI PARAGUAY
ALBANIA HOLY SEE PERU
ALGERIA HUNGARY PHILIPPINES
ARGENTINA ICELAND POLAND
AUSTRALIA INDIA PORTUGAL
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BANGLADESH IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF ROMANIA
BELGIUM IRAQ SAUDI ARABIA
BOLIVIA IRELAND SENEGAL
BRAZIL ISRAEL SIERRA LEONE
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CAMEROON JORDAN SRI LANKA
CANADA KENYA SUDAN
CHILE KOREA, REPUBLIC OF SWEDEN
CHINA KUWAIT SWITZERLAND
COLOMBIA LEBANON SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
COSTA RICA LIBERIA THAILAND
COTE DTVOIRE LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA TUNISIA
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CZECHOSLOVAKIA MADAGASCAR UKRAINIAN SOVIET SOCIALIST
DEMOCRATIC KAMPUCHEA MALAYSIA REPUBLIC
DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S MALI UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST
REPUBLIC OF KOREA MAURITIUS REPUBLICS
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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MONACO UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT
ECUADOR MONGOLIA BRITAIN AND NORTHERN
EGYPT MOROCCO IRELAND
EL SALVADOR MYANMAR UNITED REPUBLIC OF
ETHIOPIA NAMIBIA TANZANIA
FINLAND NETHERLANDS UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FRANCE NEW ZEALAND URUGUAY
GABON NICARAGUA VENEZUELA
GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC NIGER VIET NAM
GERMANY, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA YUGOSLAVIA
GHANA NORWAY ZAIRE
GREECE PAKISTAN ZAMBIA
GUATEMALA PANAMA ZIMBABWE
The Agency's Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the
IAEA held at United Nations Headquarters, New York; it entered into force on 29 July 1957. The Head
quarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is "to accelerate and enlarge the
contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world".
© IAEA, 1990
Permission to reproduce or translate the information contained in this publication may be
obtained by writing to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramerstrasse 5, P.O. Box 100,
A-1400 Vienna, Austria.
Printed by the IAEA in Austria
February 1990
TECHNICAL REPORTS SERIES No. 310
THE ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOUR
OF RADIUM
In two volumes
VOLUME 1
INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY
VIENNA, 1990
THE ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOUR OF RADIUM
IAEA, VIENNA, 1990
STI/DOC/10/310
ISBN 92-0-125090-8
ISSN 0074-1914
FOREWORD
The objective of this publication is to provide an up to date review of the
environmental behaviour of radium, including methods for analysis, assessment and
control. The need for a reference text on the subject was identified at an early stage
of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Co-ordinated Research Programme
(CRP) on radium behaviour in relation to uranium mining and milling wastes, which
began in 1976. There were two CRPs:
(1) The Source, Distribution, Movement and Deposition of Radium in Inland
Waterways and Aquifers (1976-1980; final report: IAEA-TECDOC-301,
published in 1984).
(2) The Environmental Migration of Radium and Other Contaminants Present in
Liquid and Solid Wastes from the Mining and Milling of Uranium (1981-1985;
final report: IAEA-TECDOC-370, published in 1986).
In particular, two CRPs were focused on radium migration in surface and
groundwater systems. A forerunner to the present publication was produced at the
end of the first CRP (IAEA-TECDOC-301). Although limited in scope and content,
the TECDOC attracted the interest of many workers in the field and, as a result of
this interest, it became the foundation for the present publication.
The present publication had its origin in 1984, towards the end of the second
CRP, and has been managed by a small Steering Committee (the members of the
Steering Committee and the Advisory Group, as well as the names of the referees,
are given in the List of Participants at the end of this report). It was decided that
contributors should not be restricted to the members of the CRP, but that partici
pation should be invited from known experts in the field. This was seen to have the
advantages of ensuring a broader scope for the monograph, rather than being limited
entirely to the environmental problems of the uranium mining and milling industry,
and of drawing on a larger base of expertise. The Steering Committee reviewed texts
as they were received, nominated referees and, at the last (Advisory Group) meeting,
made a final review of referees' reports and decided on the acceptance of revised
texts.
This publication deals with the sources, properties, environmental behaviour
and the methods of analysis, control and assessment of 226Ra. It is an outgrowth of
Agency programmes directed towards the environmental problems involved in
uranium mining and milling. The emphasis in several of the sections reflects these
origins. For example, many of the contributions in Volume 2 of this report on
technologically enhanced sources of radium (Part 1), methods of control and
abatement (Part 2) and the impact on man (Part 3) are concerned with uranium
mining and milling. In Volume 1, coverage of the natural distribution (Part 2),
analytical methods (Part 3), environmental migration (Part 4) and biological uptake
(Part 5), is more general. It is likely that the reader will find the information needed
on the environmental behaviour of radium in this report, or will at least find
references to other, more appropriate, texts contained in it.
Throughout the period of preparation of this publication, the Agency has taken
the advice of the members of the Steering Committee. Their support is gratefully
acknowledged, in particular, A.R. Williams, P. Benes, R.J. Kirchmann and
G.M. Ritcey should be mentioned. The help provided by the referees in reviewing
and commenting on the draft contributions is also acknowledged. The project was
managed by IAEA staff members J. Molinari (from 1984-1985) and G. Linsley
(from 1985 until the present), of the Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste
Management.
EDITORIAL NOTE
The papers have been edited by the editorial staff of the IAEA to the extent considered
necessary for the reader's assistance. The views expressed remain, however, the responsibility
of the named authors or participants. In addition, the views are not necessarily those of the
governments of the nominating Member States or of the nominating organizations.
Although great care has been taken to maintain the accuracy of information contained
in this publication, neither the IAEA nor its Member States assume any responsibility for
consequences which may arise from its use.
The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judge
ment by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their
authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries.
The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as
registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be
construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the IAEA.
The authors are responsible for having obtained the necessary permission for the IAEA
to reproduce, translate or use material from sources already protected by copyrights.
Material prepared by authors who are in contractual relation with governments is
copyrighted by the IAEA, as publisher, only to the extent permitted by the appropriate national
regulations.
CONTENTS
PART 1. INTRODUCTION
1-1. Radium — A historical introduction
A.R. Williams, R.J. Kirchmann
1-2. The chemistry and radiochemistry of radium and
the other elements of the uranium
and thorium natural decay series 11
J. Molinari, W.J. Snodgrass
PART 2. DISTRIBUTION AND GLOBAL CYCLING
2-1. The natural distribution of radium 59
M.A.R. Iyengar
2-2. Sources and the global cycle of radium 129
Z. Jaworowski
PART 3. ANALYTICAL METHODS
3-1. Introduction 145
P. Benes
3-2. Methods for measuring radium isotopes: Emanometry 149
H.F. Lucas, F. Markun, R. Boulenger
3-3. Methods for measuring radium isotopes: Alpha
particle spectrometry 173
C.J. Bland
3-4. Methods for measuring radium isotopes: Gamma
spectrometry 189
A. Canet, R. Jacquemin
3-5. Methods for measuring radium isotopes: Gross alpha
and beta counting 205
J.M. Godoy
3-6. Methods for measuring radium isotopes: Liquid scintillation .... 213
W.J. McDowell
3-7. Methods for measuring radium isotopes:
Coincidence methods 223
J.M. Godoy
3-8. Methods for measuring radium isotopes: Track detection 229
G. Somogyi
3-9. Sampling and selection of analytical methods for radium 257
G. Smithson
3-10. Speciation procedures 273
P. Benes
3-11. Error analysis: Evaluation of interlaboratory comparisons
against a precision model 301
A.R. Williams
PART 4. ENVIRONMENTAL MIGRATION
4-1. Radium in soil 323
M.J. Frissel, H. W. Koster
4-2. Radium in groundwater 335
B.L. Dickson
4-3. Radium in (continental) surface water 373
P. Benes
4-4. Radium isotopes in estuaries and coastal water 419
W.S. Moore
4-5. Radium in oceans and seas 429
T. Okubo
PART 5. BIOLOGICALUPTAKE
5-1. Radium uptake by marine plants 451
S. Bonotto
5-2. Uptake of radium by marine animals 467
M.A.R. Iyengar, K. Narayana Rao
5-3. Radium uptake by freshwater plants 487
A.R. Williams
5-4. Radium uptake by freshwater invertebrates 509
R.A. Jeffree
5-5. Radium uptake by freshwater fish 529
J. Justyn, B. Havlflc
5-6. Biological uptake of radium by terrestrial plants 545
S.L. Simon, S.A. Ibrahim