GEORAD - Geogenic radionuclides in groundwater resources - process understanding and risk assessment based on national and international case studies
Country / Region: World
Begin of project: July 1, 2018
End of project: December 31, 2022
Status of project: December 31, 2022
As part of its advisory mandate, the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) is also dealing with the environmental hazard posed by geogenically elevated radioactivity (NORM - Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material) in usable water resources. This problem is relevant even outside of regions with active/former (uranium) mining. Elevated NORM levels can pose an obstacle problem for drinking water supplies during the exploration and development of new groundwater resources, for example in Burundi as well as in North Africa and the Middle East.
Against this background, the BGR is investigating the formation and distribution of dissolved NORM contents (esp. radionuclides of uranium, radium, and polonium) in groundwater in cooperation with radioecological experts from the Institute of Radioecology and Radiation Protection (IRS) of Leibniz University Hannover and the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). Other cooperation partners are regional specialist authorities such as the Lower Saxony State Office for Mining, Energy and Geology (LBEG), the Lower Saxony State Agency for Water Management, Coastal and Nature Conservation (NLWKN) and the Saxony-Anhalt State Agency for Flood Protection and Water Management (LHW).
Origin of radium isotopes
Source: Sherif et al. 2018
The decay products of uranium-238 and thorium-232 are ubiquitously distributed radionuclides that can also occur widely in shallow aquifers. In contrast to uranium (U) and thorium (Th), the radiotoxic nuclides of radium (Ra) and polonium (Po) in particular can only be determined using complex radiometric methods. Therefore, little is known about the mobilisation and accumulation of these radionuclides in groundwater. From available data and international publications, it is known that locally highly elevated U and Ra levels, as well as Po-210 levels in individual cases, can severely restrict the use of groundwater as a drinking water resource.
Taking into account that numerous studies about uranium in groundwater are available, the GEORAD project investigates the occurrence and genesis of further geogenic radionuclides (Ra, Po) in groundwater based on national and international case studies. The focus is on shallow aquifers as well as aquifers relevant for drinking water supply. The work includes a survey of worldwide reports on NORM in groundwater, as well as own investigations on national (Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt) and international (Burundi, Namibia) case studies. The objectives are the characterisation of the relevant processes leading to NORM mobilisation and, based on this, a statement on the extent to which and under which conditions a regional spread of geogenic radiotoxic substances in groundwater might occur. The research results will be published, inter alia, as part of a dissertation (Daniel Heine, IRS).
Screenshot from the BGR Geoviewer
Source: BGR
Despite pandemic-related restrictions, several groundwater and core samples from Burundi, Namibia, Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt have been obtained and analysed during the project so far. Currently, supplementary core drillings in Lower Saxony and groundwater sampling are being planned and carried out. The evaluation of the available data shows that in all case studies significantly elevated dissolved NORM levels were found in the groundwater. The evaluation has not yet been completed because data collection is still pending due to the pandemic.
Geoviewer:
Data:
- Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) in Groundwater as shapefile
- Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) in Groundwater as web map service
Literature:
Papers:
- WAGNER, F., MÜHR-EBERT, E.L., KÖHLER, F. & WALTHER, C.: A Global Review on the Occurrence of Radium in Groundwater. - Applied Geochemistry (submitted)
- MÜHR-EBERT, E.L., WAGNER, F. & WALTER, C. (2019): Speciation of uranium: Compilation of a thermodynamic database and its experimental evaluation using different analytical techniques. - Applied Geochemistry, Vol. 100: 213-222. doi: 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2018.10.006
- WAGNER, F., ALTFELDER, S., HIMMELSBACH, T. & JUNG, H. (2019): Uranium mill tailings affecting water resources in Mailuu Suu Valley, Kyrgyzstan. In: Uranium Production Cycle Selected Papers 2012 – 2015. - Proceedings of a Series of Technical Meetings: 55-62. IAEA-TECDOC-1873, IAEA, Vienna.
Conference contributions:
- HOFMANN, P., WAGNER, F., LUCKS, C. & WITTWER, C. (2021): Occurrence and origin of polonium-210 in a sandstone aquifer in Germany. - EGU 2020, Session EGU21-69, GI6.2, Vienna.
- SCHULTE, V., WAGNER, F., MÜHR-EBERT, E.L., WALTHER, C. & METSCHIES, T. (2019): Evaluation of in-situ immobilisation of Uranium in tailing material on a laboratory scale. Proceedings of WISSYM 2019 (4. Internationales Bergbausymposium), 9.- 11.10.2019: 175-184; Chemnitz.