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Assessment of natural radioactivity of Vietnamese steel slag for using as landfill material

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Abstract

While steel slag is widely used in many countries as an environmentally benign building and backfill materials, it has not been used in Vietnam. This is because steel slag is naturally radioactive and has been treated as radioactive waste; however, there has not been any study to evaluate the natural radioactivity. This paper presents the results of an investigation and evaluation of the potential use of Vietnamese steel slag as a building material. Although the presence of natural isotopes, such as 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K, were confirmed in the steel slag samples, the calculated radioactivity index I for all samples did not exceed the nominal thresholds for building construction, landfill, and landscaping applications specified in the Finland standard STUK ST 12.2/2012 and the Vietnamese standard TCXDVN 397:2007. Therefore, the Vietnamese steel slag is not a radioactive waste and can be used as building and backfill materials without environmental risk in terms of natural radioactivity. The findings of this study will be beneficial not only to Vietnam, but also to other countries that are having trouble reusing steel slag for similar reasons.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Equipment, Environment and Labour Safety, Vietnam Institute for Building Materials, No. 235 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi, 100000, Vietnam

    Song Thi Le, Anh Tuan Le, Chien Cao Le, Tam Thi Nguyen, Hong Thi Luu & Thanh Trung Le

  2. School of Engineering Science, Kochi University of Technology, Kami,, Tosayamada, Kochi, 782-8502, Japan

    Nagatoshi Nishiwaki

  3. Research Center for Molecular Design, Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Tosayamada, Kochi, 782-8502, Japan

    Nagatoshi Nishiwaki

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  1. Song Thi Le
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  2. Anh Tuan Le
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  3. Chien Cao Le
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  4. Tam Thi Nguyen
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  5. Hong Thi Luu
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  6. Thanh Trung Le
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  7. Nagatoshi Nishiwaki
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Correspondence to Song Thi Le or Nagatoshi Nishiwaki.

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Le, S.T., Le, A.T., Le, C.C. et al. Assessment of natural radioactivity of Vietnamese steel slag for using as landfill material. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 25, 3885–3892 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-023-01797-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-023-01797-3

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