Environmental Impact of Uranium Mining and Ore Processing in the Lagoa Real District, Bahia, Brazil
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- 作者：Ilson G. Carvalho ; Rosa Cidu ; Luca Fanfani ; Helmut Pitsch ; Catherine Beaucaire ; and Pierpaolo Zuddas
- 刊名：Environmental Science & Technology
- 出版年：2005
- 出版时间：November 15, 2005
- 年：2005
- 卷：39
- 期：22
- 页码：8646 - 8652
- 全文大小：338K
- 年卷期：v.39,no.22(November 15, 2005)
- ISSN：1520-5851
文摘
Uranium mining and processing at Lagoa Real (Bahia,Brazil) started in 2000. Hydrogeochemical monitoring carriedout from 1999 to 2001 revealed generally good quality ofthe water resources outside and inside the mineralized area.No chemical contamination in waters for domestic useswas observed. Hydrochemical characteristics did not varysignificantly after 1 year of U exploitation, as comparedto premining conditions. Due to the short time of mining, theresults cannot exclude future variations in water quality.Leaching experiments helped to describe processes of oreand waste degradation. Sulfate was identified as anindicator for different types of contamination. Potentialhazards related to local climate (hot rainy season) wereidentified. They indicate that tailings derived from the oreprocessing, destabilized by sulfuric acid attack, mayinduce acidification and salinization in the surroundingenvironment. Another potential source of environmentalimpact could be linked to local radium-rich mineralization,originating radon emission.