Preliminary results of spatial distribution of uranium and thorium in soil profi les near a uranium industrial site, Guangdong province, China

The environmental issues concerning uranium mining and milling have long been paid considerable attention in wide aspects in the world [1–4]. It is well known that the industrial activities of mining and milling of uranium ores can lead to release of a tremendous amount of radioactive pollutants (wastewater and tailings, as representative carrier) that consist typically of U and Th compounds. Also, the unintended stacking of uranium ores and waste rocks in surface environment would result in leaching of U and Th under weathering and meteorological conditions. Once being improperly treated, these radioactive pollutants can directly transfer to the environmental media, posing a signifi cant threat to the ecosystem and public health in the light of their radioactivity, toxicity, accumulation in the food chain and long-term persistence in nature [5–7]. In the context of increased demand for uranium resulting from skyrocketing development of nuclear power plants in China, it is encouraged to carry out investigation on uranium-induced pollution and remediation strategy. In the present study, a large granitic-type uranium deposit in Guangdong, China, was selected, whose mining and milling activities commenced from 1960s. After 50 years of operation, Preliminary results of spatial distribution of uranium and thorium in soil profi les near a uranium industrial site, Guangdong province, China Jin Wang, Juan Liu, Yongheng Chen, Gang Song, Diyun Chen, Tangfu Xiao, Huosheng Li, Chunlin Wang, Feng Jiang