Survey of environmental radioactivity at a decommissioned uranium mine in Southern China

Abstract

To gain a deeper understanding of the conditions at decommissioned uranium mines, on-site monitoring of environmental radioactivity was conducted at a decommissioned uranium mine in southern China. The results showed that the average surface γ-ray dose rate in the mining area and surrounding regions ranged from 83.2 to 286.6 nGy h^–1, and the average concentration of radon and its progeny in the air ranged from 23.1 to 66.5 Bq m^–3 and 30.3 to 112.4 nJ m^–3, respectively, which are below the national regulatory limits of China. After remediation, the uranium mine did not cause radioactive pollution to spread into the surrounding environment, indicating the effectiveness of remediation efforts over time.