Dependence of radon exhalation on grain size of sedimentary waste

Tailings resulted from sulphuric acid leaching process of uranium from sedimentary rocks contain high concentrations of 226Ra and its daughters, the most important of which is 222Rn. Movement of radon gas out of the tailings is strongly influenced by the physicochemical characteristics of these tailings especially their radium content and the grain size. So, the tailing samples were size fractionated into four sizes (> 250, 250–125, 125–74 and 250 and < 74 µm, the activity concentrations of 230Th, 226Ra, 214Pb, 214Bi, 210Pb, 232Th and 40K increased throughout with decreasing particle size, while that of 238U, 234U and 235U have an opposite effect. The results revealed an inverse relationship between the radon exhalation rate and size fractionation. Also, the results showed a good correlation between radium activity concentration and radon mass exhalation rate.