Radiological assessment of wastes from copper mining in Iberian Pyrite Belt
The Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB), located in SW Spain, is the geographical area where more mining activities related to polymetallic minerals have been developed from around 4000 years before present, being especially intense from the second half of 19th century, generating huge amounts of wastes store...
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Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025020146 |
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| author | Juan Antonio Ramírez-Pérez Alejandro Barba-Lobo Manuel Jesús Gázquez-González Juan Pedro Bolívar |
| author_facet | Juan Antonio Ramírez-Pérez Alejandro Barba-Lobo Manuel Jesús Gázquez-González Juan Pedro Bolívar |
| author_sort | Juan Antonio Ramírez-Pérez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB), located in SW Spain, is the geographical area where more mining activities related to polymetallic minerals have been developed from around 4000 years before present, being especially intense from the second half of 19th century, generating huge amounts of wastes stored along the basins of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the radiological European Union regulation, and the international one, the polymetallic mining is considered as a NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material) activity, and therefore, it is necessary to carry out an evaluation of the radiological risks associated with these mining activities. To achieve this objective the waste repositories of several mining areas were sampled trying to obtain the most representative wastes of the study area (roasted pyrite, floating mud, slags, leached pyrite, between others). The activity concentrations of natural radionuclides and multielement composition of the collected samples were measured, and different radiological indexes were calculated (Raeq, Hex, Ic, Fc238U and Fc232Th). The main conclusion of this work has been that all these indexes are below the threshold stablished by regulation to assure an effective dose smaller than 1 mSv per year, and therefore the mining waste deposited in the IPB can be used in valorization processes for building materials without radiological restrictions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1a9c610deb3d4e368d25a6243ce77a25 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj-art-1a9c610deb3d4e368d25a6243ce77a252025-08-20T03:50:22ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402025-08-011113e4362810.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e43628Radiological assessment of wastes from copper mining in Iberian Pyrite BeltJuan Antonio Ramírez-Pérez0Alejandro Barba-Lobo1Manuel Jesús Gázquez-González2Juan Pedro Bolívar3Corresponding author.; Department of Integrated Sciences, Center for Natural Resources, Health and Environment (RENSMA), University of Huelva, 21071, Huelva, SpainDepartment of Integrated Sciences, Center for Natural Resources, Health and Environment (RENSMA), University of Huelva, 21071, Huelva, SpainDepartment of Integrated Sciences, Center for Natural Resources, Health and Environment (RENSMA), University of Huelva, 21071, Huelva, SpainDepartment of Integrated Sciences, Center for Natural Resources, Health and Environment (RENSMA), University of Huelva, 21071, Huelva, SpainThe Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB), located in SW Spain, is the geographical area where more mining activities related to polymetallic minerals have been developed from around 4000 years before present, being especially intense from the second half of 19th century, generating huge amounts of wastes stored along the basins of the Odiel and Tinto rivers. According to the radiological European Union regulation, and the international one, the polymetallic mining is considered as a NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material) activity, and therefore, it is necessary to carry out an evaluation of the radiological risks associated with these mining activities. To achieve this objective the waste repositories of several mining areas were sampled trying to obtain the most representative wastes of the study area (roasted pyrite, floating mud, slags, leached pyrite, between others). The activity concentrations of natural radionuclides and multielement composition of the collected samples were measured, and different radiological indexes were calculated (Raeq, Hex, Ic, Fc238U and Fc232Th). The main conclusion of this work has been that all these indexes are below the threshold stablished by regulation to assure an effective dose smaller than 1 mSv per year, and therefore the mining waste deposited in the IPB can be used in valorization processes for building materials without radiological restrictions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025020146Mining wastesRadioactive characterizationIberian Pyrite BeltRadionuclidesRadiological hazard index |
| spellingShingle | Juan Antonio Ramírez-Pérez Alejandro Barba-Lobo Manuel Jesús Gázquez-González Juan Pedro Bolívar Radiological assessment of wastes from copper mining in Iberian Pyrite Belt Heliyon Mining wastes Radioactive characterization Iberian Pyrite Belt Radionuclides Radiological hazard index |
| title | Radiological assessment of wastes from copper mining in Iberian Pyrite Belt |
| title_full | Radiological assessment of wastes from copper mining in Iberian Pyrite Belt |
| title_fullStr | Radiological assessment of wastes from copper mining in Iberian Pyrite Belt |
| title_full_unstemmed | Radiological assessment of wastes from copper mining in Iberian Pyrite Belt |
| title_short | Radiological assessment of wastes from copper mining in Iberian Pyrite Belt |
| title_sort | radiological assessment of wastes from copper mining in iberian pyrite belt |
| topic | Mining wastes Radioactive characterization Iberian Pyrite Belt Radionuclides Radiological hazard index |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025020146 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT juanantonioramirezperez radiologicalassessmentofwastesfromcoppermininginiberianpyritebelt AT alejandrobarbalobo radiologicalassessmentofwastesfromcoppermininginiberianpyritebelt AT manueljesusgazquezgonzalez radiologicalassessmentofwastesfromcoppermininginiberianpyritebelt AT juanpedrobolivar radiologicalassessmentofwastesfromcoppermininginiberianpyritebelt |