Abstract
Uranium mine workers are exposed to ore dust containing uranium and its daughter products during different mining operations. These radionuclides may pose inhalation hazards to workers during the course of their occupation. The most significant among these radionuclides is 226Ra. The measurement of radium body burden of uranium mine workers is important to assess their internal exposure. For this purpose, the radon-in-breath measurement technique has been used in the present paper. Workers at the Jaduguda mine, India, associated with different categories of mining operations were monitored between 2001 and 2007. The measurement results indicate that workers—depending on mining operation category—show 226Ra body burdens ranging from 0.15 to 2.85 kBq. The maximum body burden was found for workers associated with timbering operations, with an average 226Ra body burden of 0.85 ± 0.54 kBq. Overall, the average value observed for 800 workers was 0.76 ± 0.51 kBq, which gives rise to an average effective dose of 1.67 mSv per year for inhalation and 0.21 mSv per year for ingestion.
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Acknowledgments
The authors express their gratitude to Dr D.N. Sharma, Director, Health, Safety and Environment Group, BARC, for his encouragement and support. The authors also express their sincere thanks to Shri D. Acharya, C&MD, UCIL, for his kind support to this study. The support of the authorities of Jaduguda Mine of M/s Uranium Corporation of India Ltd., Jaduguda, to provide facilities is thankfully acknowledged. The valuable help and encouragement received from the colleagues of the Health Physics Unit, Jaduguda, are also acknowledged.
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Patnaik, R.L., Jha, V.N., Kumar, R. et al. Distribution of 226Ra body burden of workers in an underground uranium mine in India. Radiat Environ Biophys 53, 739–744 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-014-0566-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-014-0566-1