Radioactivity assessment of the waste deposited in Candonga’s lake after the Fundão dam’s collapse

Authors

  • Carolina Braccini Freire Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear
  • Talita Santos Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais/Departamento de Anatomia e Imagem
  • Gabriel Sales Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais/Departamento de Engenharia Química
  • Fernando Lameiras Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear
  • Zildete Rocha Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear
  • Valeria Cuccia Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15392/bjrs.v7i3.850

Keywords:

Fundão dam's collapse, waste, radioactivity assessment.

Abstract

The collapse of the Fundão dam on November 5th 2015 caused impacts along the hydrographic basin of Rio Doce. Renova Foundation has the mission to repair, restore and reconstruct the regions affected by this disaster. After the collapse, a huge amount of waste was deposited in Risoleta Neves Hydroelectric Power Plant’s lake (Candonga). This waste has been dredged out from the lake and deposited in a nearby pile. The use of the waste from this pile is being considered for civil construction. Samples of this waste pile were collected and they were characterized by X-rays diffraction and EDS analyses, which showed that it consists of 80% quartz, 11% hematite, 8% goethite and 1% clays, mainly kaolinite. There is also organic matter consisting of branches, roots and leaves of trees and plants. Previous radiological analyses made before the collapse showed that the radionuclide content of the waste deposited in Fundão dam was very low. However, the waste deposited in Candonga’s lake has a new composition and it is important to evaluate its radioactivity assessment. The analyses results of the Candonda’s waste samples will be presented and compared to the results obtained in the Fundão dam samples, before its collapse.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

  • Carolina Braccini Freire, Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear
    Waste Management Section

References

HEINECK, A.; VALADARES, L.; ANDRADE, M. Samarco. Belo Horizonte, Minas Ge-rias, Brasil. 2016. Available at: <http://www.samarco.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Samarco-intensifies-construction-works-at-Candonga.pdf> Last accessed: 17 Nov. 2017.

RIOS, F. Samarco. Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerias, Brasil. 2016. Available at: <http://samarco.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Book-Samarco_final_baixa.pdf> Last ac-cessed: 17 Nov. 2017.

STOFELA, D.; PINTO, H.; DONÉ, A.; HEINECK, A.; VALADARES, L.; ANDRADE M. Samarco. Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerias, Brasil. 2016. Available at: <http://www.samarco.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/11072016-–-Samarco-intensifies-dredging-at-Risoleta-Neves-Hydroeletric-power-plant’s-lake-Candonga.pdf> Last accessed: 17 Nov. 2017.

FREIRE, C.B.; CUCCIA, V.; SANTOS, T.O.; TELLO, C.C.O.; LAMEIRAS, F.S.; RO-CHA, Z. Radioactivity assessment of pavement blocks made with Itabirite ore waste. Rev Bra de Pesq e Desenvol, v. 14, p. 55-61, 2013.

IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency. Technical Reports Series no. 419: Extent of environmental contamination by naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) and technological options for mitigation. Vienna: IAEA, 2003.

NADA, A. “Evaluation of natural radionuclides at Um-Greifat area, eastern desert of Egypt”, Applied Radiation and Isotopes, v. 58, p. 275-280, 2003.

BRUZZI, L. et al. “Radioactivity in raw materials and end products in the Italian ceramics industry.” Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, v. 47, p. 171-181, 2000.

CUCCIA, V. et al. Distribution of radionuclides in Bayer process. INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR ATLANTIC CONFERENCE, 2007, Belo Horizonte. Annals Belo Horizonte: Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear, 2007.

Downloads

Published

2019-07-04

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Radioactivity assessment of the waste deposited in Candonga’s lake after the Fundão dam’s collapse. Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, v. 7, n. 3, 2019. DOI: 10.15392/bjrs.v7i3.850. Disponível em: https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/850.. Acesso em: 24 nov. 2024.

Similar Articles

71-80 of 229

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)