Naturally occurring radioactive materials in metallic mine wastes from northeaster Guanajuato Mexico: a scoping study

Accumulation of mine wastes with high concentrations of potentially toxic elements has been occurring in different mining regions of Mexico. Few data are available on the activity concentration of natural radionuclides in metallic mine wastes. Radioactive data is necessary to assess the impact of mine wastes from a radiological point of view. In this work, levels of natural radioactivity in a metallic mine wastes area from Xichu in northeaster Guanajuato Mexico, have been determined. This region is characterised by the mining of 'skarn' ores containing silver, and copper, among other elements. The radiometric characterisation of mine wastes has been performed by gamma-ray and alpha-particle spectrometry. The obtained results of the activity concentration cover the ranges of 4-11, 4-38 and 548-1,739 Bq kg‒1 for U and Th natural series and 40K respectively. These results are comparable with the averages values found in unperturbed soils worldwide, and the radiological impact is negligible.