NUCLEAR MATERIALS MINING ACTIVITIES IMPACTS ON AERIAL ENVIRONMENT, CASE STUDY: SOUTHWESTERN SINAI

Abstract

(1) Abu Hamata adit, with its one inlet is not actually ventilated, but few stations near the opening were found to be affected by the outside atmosphere resulting from the (piston) action, which is dependent upon the difference between the average inner and outer temperatures. The air inside the adit is in static condition, except for the first three outer stations, which have slightly higher speed in winter inwards with reversed direction in summer.

(2) El Ramsa gallery is highly different from the adit. It has 3 openings, at different altitudes, with good and wide ventilation sector (more than 75 % of its volume). In the ventilated sector, there were strong air movements (with maximum speeds 3.2 and 2.98 m/s in winter and summer, respectively), while in the non-ventilated sector, it was in a static situation with inconsiderable seasonal differences, as Abu Hamata adit.

(3) The Rn concentrations are increasing with the increases of the distance from openings, for the adit and the gallery, due to the confinement and the enhancement of the radon accumulation as it was being away from the outside atmosphere. The Rn concentrations of the ventilated sector stations of the gallery were much less, with a wide range, than those of the non-ventilated one. They were affected by the outer low backgrounds and the fluctuations caused by the non uniformity of air circulation at these stations. The average Rn concentrations in winter were less than those in summer by a factor of about 1.5 and 1.6, for the adit and the gallery, respectively.

(4) The WL concentrations, measured by Thomas method, as the Rn gas concentrations, increased with the increase of the distance from the openings as being far from the ventilated sector and the outside atmosphere, both at the gallery and the adit.