Radiological characterization of the tailings of an abandoned copper mine using a neural network and geostatistical analysis through the Co-Kriging method.

The radiological characterization of soil contaminated with natural radionuclides enables the classification of the area under investigation, the optimization of laboratory measurements, and informed decision-making on potential site remediation. Neural networks (NN) are emerging as a new candidate for performing these tasks as an alternative to conventional geostatistical tools such as Co-Kriging. This study demonstrates the implementation of a NN for estimating radiological values such as ambient dose equivalent (H*(10)), surface activity and activity concentrations of natural radionuclides present in a waste dump of a Cu mine with a high level of natural radionuclides.

Influence of soil chemical composition on U, Ra and Pb uptake in leaves and fruits of Quercus ilex L.

To determine their transfer factors, activity concentrations of natural radionuclides were measured in the leaves and acorns of holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) trees collected from seven locations with different soil properties and radionuclide activity concentrations. The chemical and mineralogical compositions of the soils were also analysed to investigate the effect these had on radionuclide absorption by the trees.

Increasing the recovery and selectivity of U, U, and U extraction with tri-n-butyl phosphate in mine tailing samples with a high copper content.

Abandoned Cu mine tailings may be associated high concentrations of U. However, the presence of stable cations such as Cu, Fe, Al, Ca, or Mg, etc. in high concentrations can reduce the chemical efficiency of the liquid-liquid extraction method with tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP); it can also inhibit the electrodeposition of U on the stainless steel planchet where the sample is measured.

Improvements in the radiochemical method for separating Ra in solid samples through coprecipitation with BaSO.

The aim of this work was to improve the commonly used method for Ra determination in water and to establish its application in solid samples. This method is based on the coprecipitation of Ra with BaSO and gross alpha counting of the precipitate. An exhaustive study of the coprecipitation behaviour of the most abundant cations present in solid samples was performed to avoid incorrect radiochemical yields.

Factors that influence the absorption of uranium by indigenous plants on the spoil tip of an abandoned mine in western Spain.

The purpose of this work was to study the factors affecting the absorption of U by plants growing on the spoil tip of an abandoned mine in western Spain. The plant species were selected based on how palatable they were to livestock and were sampled for four consecutive years during which, we also recorded rainfall data. The factors related to the plants studied were the leaf size and the percentage and characteristics of the arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) fungi present in their roots.