Risk analysis for groundwater intake in an old mining shaft with increased chloride content, Upper Silesia, Southern Poland.

Water from underground intakes is the main source of potable water for people in Poland, hence the protection of its resources is of great importance for the functioning of society and the economy. A new regulation in Polish Water Law imposes the obligation of performing risk analysis for water intakes, including the assessment of health hazards, factors negatively affecting water quality which are identified on the basis of hydrogeological and geological analyses. The main objective of the study was to determine the health risk for chlorides and to present an innovative approach to the health risk for non-toxic substances.

Long term changes in the concentration of radium in discharge waters of coal mines and Upper Silesian rivers.

According to the latest guidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA, 2016), coal mining is one of the most important contributors to occupational exposure. Coal mining contributes about 45% of the total annual collective dose obtained by workers due to the exposure at places of working. One of the sources of exposure in mining are formation brines with elevated concentrations of natural radionuclides, the most common are radium Ra and Ra.