Surface geochemical survey in the vicinity of decommissioned coal mine shafts.

Methane observed in soil atmosphere above active and abandoned bituminous coal mines has a thermogenic (coalbed) and/or microbial (produced by anaerobic bacteria or resulted from in situ coal biodegradation) origin or it may be a mixture of gases generated from various sources. Identification of the origin of methane may support or refute the thesis on the uncontrolled migration of mine gases in rock formations followed by their emission to the atmosphere at coal extraction sites. Surface geochemical surveys were carried out in the vicinity of the decommissioned mine shafts at the Murcki-Staszic Coal Mine, located in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (southern Poland).

Radioactivity of the gas pipeline network in Poland.

The paper presents the study of the radioactivity connected with the transport of natural gas by the gas pipeline network in the selected points in Poland. In the scope of the study the measurements of activity concentration of radon (Rn) in the gas samples, radiolead (Pb) in spent filter cartridges and dust samples (black powder) collected from the gas pipeline network were performed. The results show that the Rn activity concentration in natural gas varies from the detection limit of the applied method (30 Bq/m) to around 1400 Bq/m.

Radioactivity in wastes generated from shale gas exploration and production - North-Eastern Poland.

In the present study, the K-40, U-238, Ra-226, Pb-210, Ra-228 and Th-228 activity concentrations were measured in 64 samples of wastes generated from shale gas exploration in North-Eastern Poland. The measured samples consist of drill cuttings, solid phase of waste drilling muds, fracking fluids, return fracking fluids and waste proppants. The measured activity concentrations in solid samples vary in a wide range from 116 to around 1100 Bq/kg for K-40, from 14 to 393 Bq/kg for U-238, from 15 to 415 Bq/kg for Ra-226, from 12 to 391 Bq/kg for Pb-210, from a few Bq/kg to 516 Bq/kg for Ra-228 and from a few Bq/kg to 515 Bq/kg for Th-228.