TENORM SourcesMining and Resource ExtractionUranium Fertilizer ProductionCopper Waste RockGold and SilverRare EarthsTitanium OresZirconEnergy Production WastesCoal and Coal AshGeothermal Energy Waste ScalesPetroleum (Oil and Gas)Water and Waste Treatment ResiduesWater TreatmentConsumer Products Containing TENORMhttp://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm/sources.htmNote: The following article is included from the EPA web site with EPA permission. TENORM Sources • Mining and Resource Extraction • Energy Products • Water and Waste Treatment • Consumer Products Containing TENORM Mining and Resource Extraction TENORM may be present in mining wastes. These wastes, most significantly from uranium mining, may be generated in large volumes and stored on land near the mine site. The waste rock and soil has little or no practical use. Uranium mine wastes from mines that closed before about 1975 are of particular concern. In many cases, these mines remain unreclaimed today, with the wastes piled near the mine as it was when the mine closed. Below is information about wastes from several resource extraction industries: • Uranium • Fertilizer Production • Aluminum • Copper Waste Rock • Gold and Silver • Rare Earths • Titanium Ores • Zircon Uranium The mining of uranium ores by underground, by in-situ leaching, and by surface methods produces large and small amounts of bulk waste material, including excavated top soil, overburden that contains no ore, weakly uranium-enriched waste rock, and subgrade ores, and evaporation pond sludges and scales. These materials typically contain radionuclides of radium, uranium, and thorium. Materials Radiation Level [pCi/g] low average high 1Uranium Mining Overburden low Uranium In-Situ Leachate Evaporation Pond 3 30 low hundreds Solids 300 3000 Fertilizer Production The production of phosphates for fertilizer generates wastes in very large volumes that are stored in huge piles called "stacks" that cover hundreds of acres in Florida and other phosphate-processing states. These radioactive materials contain radium and other radionuclides and create large amounts of radon. EPA and state agencies have regulations controlling these wastes. In addition, the state of Florida has created an independent state research agency charged with investigating ways to minimize adverse environmental impacts of the phosphate industry. Materials Radiation Level [pCi/g] low average high Phosphate Ore (Florida) 7 17.3-39.5 6.2-53.5 Phosphogypsum 7.3 11.7-24.5 36.7 Phosphate Fertilizer 0.5 5.7 21 Aluminum Waste muds created by the extraction of alumina from its ore, bauxite, may contain low levels of radioactivity, usually from uranium, thorium, radium, and their radioactive decay products Materials Radiation Level [pCi/g] low average high Ore (Bauxite) 4.4 NA 7.4 Product 0.23 2Production Wastes NA 3.9-5.6 NA Copper Waste Rock Mining and extraction of copper by common surface or underground methods can concentrate or expose uranium, thorium, and radium in waste rock. Another extraction method, known as "in-situ" leaching, can transport uranium and thorium into groundwater or surface water at the site. In this method, rather than removing soil and rock to reach the copper deposit, liquids containing chemicals are allowed to seep through copper-bearing rocks and dissolve the copper. It also dissolves radionuclides that may be in the soil and rock. The liquids are captured and the copper is recovered, leaving the radionuclides. Some of the liquids remain and may contaminate water in the area. In-situ leaching may also be used on tailings (waste rock). Wastes Radiation Level [pCi/g] low average high Copper Waste Rock 0.7 12 82.6 Gold and Silver While few studies have been done on these ores, some western mines produced uranium as a secondary product when extracting precious metals. Pitchblende (a naturally occurring material containing low concentrations of uranium) has been found in the same ores as gold and silver. Waste rock from some of these mines may be radioactive. Rare Earths Rare earths are a group of elements that have electrical properties that make them useful in electronics and electrical applications. Lanthanides and yttrium are recovered primarily from ores and minerals that naturally contain uranium and thorium. As a result, the waste rock and sludges from the extraction of rare earths also contain these radionuclides. Materials Radiation Level [pCi/g] low average high Rare Earths(Monazite, Xenotime, Bastnasite) 5.7 3224 3Titanium Ores Uranium, thorium, and radium commonly occur in titanium ore and monazite occurs in sands from which the titanium is extracted. As a result, the mineral sludges, dusts, and sands from the extraction process may be radioactive. Materials Radiation Level [pCi/g] low average high Titanium Ores 8.0 24.5 Rutile 3.9 19.7 NA Ilmenite NA 5.7 Wastes 3.9 12 45 Zircon Zircon is naturally radioactive, containing small amounts of uranium, thorium and radium in its crystalline structure. It is also mined from deposits containing other radioactive minerals such as monazite. Materials Radiation Level [pCi/g] low average high Zircon 68 Wastes 87 1300 ] Energy Production Wastes • Coal and Coal Ash • Geothermal Energy Waste Scales 4• Petroleum (oil and gas) Coal and Coal Ash Coal contains trace quantities of the naturally occurring radionuclides of uranium, thorium, and potassium as well as their radioactive decay products. When coal is burned, minerals including most of the radionuclides do not burn and as a result are concentrated in the ash. Wastes Radiation Level [pCi/g] low average high Bottom Ash 1.6 3.5-4.6 7.7 Fly Ash 2 5.8 9.7 Geothermal Energy Waste Scales Using geothermal energy, requires drilling deep holes (boreholes) and inserting pipes for pumping high-temperature fluids from the ground. The rocks that contain the high-temperature fluids may also contain minerals, which tend to form a scale inside the pipes and production equipment. If the rocks also contain radionuclides, such as radium, the mineral scale, production sludges, and waste water will contain TENORM. Wastes Radiation Level [pCi/g] low average high Geothermal Energy Waste Scales 10 132 254 Petroleum (Oil and Gas) The rocks that contain oil and gas deposits