Re: Open Pit Uranium Mines

[David Bromwich <D.Bromwich@ens.gu.edu.au>]

Some additional notes

The range of alpha particles in air is a few cm. You are unlikely to
measure any alphas.  The wind may stir up dust (count on 1:E6-7
resuspension), but the main activity will be from uranium and radium. The
dust will actually make the radon progeny less harmful, since the progeny
plus dust is larger -> diffusion less -> lung penetration (sixe related)
and deposition less. Something like a factor of 3 for dose between
attached and unattached progeny.  Radon has a half life of 3.8 days. You
breath it in, you breathe it out, but it is fat soluble (you can hace RnF6
- it does have some chemistry)

David Bromwich
================================================================
David Bromwich                            
Lecturer, Occupational Hygiene            tel +617 875 7487
Faculty of Environmental Sciences         fax +617 875 5105
Griffith University            Internet D.Bromwich@ens.gu.edu.au
Nathan, Queensland, AUSTRALIA  4111
================================================================