Radium behaviour during desalination processes of mine waters

In the 1980s and 1990s, investigations of radium behaviour in a desalination plant were performed by the Laboratory of Radiometry of the Central Mining Institute. This plant, for the complete removal of dissolved solids from mineralized mine water, is located in Debiensko Mine. The installation was a unique solution, the only installation constructed for such purposes in Poland and in the world. In the plant, brine from two coal mines is treated. This saline water was, in addition, radium-bearing, containing enhanced levels of radium isotopes (226Ra and 228Ra). Our investigation showed enhanced concentrations of radium in different waste materials and by-products of the process. Therefore the economic use of such products was not possible. In recent years, the planning of the construction of such a desalination plant for another group of mines has been under discussion (Piast and Ziemowit Collieries). The results of investigations of contamination of the natural environment caused by radium-bearing water from these mines indicated how severe this problem was. To solve this, the removal of radium in underground galleries was applied in one of these mines. On the basis of previous investigations in the Debiensko desalination plant, an analysis of radium behaviour in the planned installation was conducted. It was done for two possible scenarios - with and without the prior removal of radium from the mine water. The results of the analysis are presented in this paper. This assessment gives a very good opportunity to point out the potential importance of the removal of radium from mine waters, not only to minimize environmental pollution but also to enable the utilization of certain products of the desalination process. (author)