Characteristics of Natural Background Radiation in the Lubin Mine, Poland

Agata Walencik-Łata; Katarzyna Szkliniarz; Jan Kisiel; Kinga Polaczek-Grelik; Karol Jędrzejczak; Marcin Kasztelan; Jacek Szabelski; Jerzy Orzechowski; Przemysław Tokarski; Włodzimierz Marszał; Marika Przybylak; Lech Stolecki; Tomasz Selerowicz; Krzysztof Fuławka

LAPSE

Living Archive for Process Systems Engineering

LAPSE:2023.34691

Published Article

LAPSE:2023.34691

Characteristics of Natural Background Radiation in the Lubin Mine, Poland

Agata Walencik-Łata, Katarzyna Szkliniarz, Jan Kisiel, Kinga Polaczek-Grelik, Karol Jędrzejczak, Marcin Kasztelan, Jacek Szabelski, Jerzy Orzechowski, Przemysław Tokarski, Włodzimierz Marszał, Marika Przybylak, Lech Stolecki, Tomasz Selerowicz, Krzysztof Fuławka

April 27, 2023

There has been growing interest in using underground locations for applications in various fields, including research. In Poland, for several years, attempts have been made to build an underground laboratory. For this purpose, selecting an appropriate location requires a detailed analysis of the level of natural radioactivity. The present study presents detailed characteristics of the natural background radiation in close vicinity to shaft L-VI of the Lubin mine, at the depth of 910 m (2275 m w.e.). The in situ measurement of the photon flux in the 7−3150 keV energy range was equal to 8.08 ± 0.90 cm−2s−1, and the gamma-ray dose rate of 0.070 ± 0.010 µSv/h with the highest contribution from 40K and 214B isotopes. The thermal neutron flux measured using helium counters was equal to 4.2 ± 0.9 × 10−6 cm−2s−1. The radon concentration in the air measured with the RAD7 monitor showed low values ranging from 0 to 15.3 Bq/m3. Laboratory measurements of rocks using alpha and gamma spectrometry techniques showed a significant variation in the concentration of 226Ra and 234,238U isotopes, and the highest concentration values were recorded for shales. The 40K, 234,238U and 226Ra isotopes make the greatest contribution to the natural radioactivity of analyzed rocks.

Record ID

LAPSE:2023.34691

Keywords

natural radiation, radioisotopes concentration, underground research laboratory

Subject

Other

Suggested Citation

Walencik-Łata A, Szkliniarz K, Kisiel J, Polaczek-Grelik K, Jędrzejczak K, Kasztelan M, Szabelski J, Orzechowski J, Tokarski P, Marszał W, Przybylak M, Stolecki L, Selerowicz T, Fuławka K. Characteristics of Natural Background Radiation in the Lubin Mine, Poland. (2023). LAPSE:2023.34691

Author Affiliations

Walencik-Łata A: August Chełkowski Institute of Physics, University of Silesia in Katowice, 75 Pułku Piechoty 1, 41-500 Chorzów, Poland [ORCID]
Szkliniarz K: August Chełkowski Institute of Physics, University of Silesia in Katowice, 75 Pułku Piechoty 1, 41-500 Chorzów, Poland [ORCID]
Kisiel J: August Chełkowski Institute of Physics, University of Silesia in Katowice, 75 Pułku Piechoty 1, 41-500 Chorzów, Poland [ORCID]
Polaczek-Grelik K: NU-Med Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Centre Katowice, Ceglana 35, 40-514 Katowice, Poland
Jędrzejczak K: National Centre for Nuclear Research, 28 Pułku Strzelców Kaniowskich 69, 90-558 Łódź, Poland [ORCID]
Kasztelan M: National Centre for Nuclear Research, 28 Pułku Strzelców Kaniowskich 69, 90-558 Łódź, Poland
Szabelski J: National Centre for Nuclear Research, 28 Pułku Strzelców Kaniowskich 69, 90-558 Łódź, Poland
Orzechowski J: National Centre for Nuclear Research, 28 Pułku Strzelców Kaniowskich 69, 90-558 Łódź, Poland
Tokarski P: National Centre for Nuclear Research, 28 Pułku Strzelców Kaniowskich 69, 90-558 Łódź, Poland
Marszał W: National Centre for Nuclear Research, 28 Pułku Strzelców Kaniowskich 69, 90-558 Łódź, Poland
Przybylak M: National Centre for Nuclear Research, 28 Pułku Strzelców Kaniowskich 69, 90-558 Łódź, Poland
Stolecki L: KGHM CUPRUM Research & Development Centre, Sikorskiego 2-8, 53-659 Wrocław, Poland
Selerowicz T: KGHM CUPRUM Research & Development Centre, Sikorskiego 2-8, 53-659 Wrocław, Poland
Fuławka K: KGHM CUPRUM Research & Development Centre, Sikorskiego 2-8, 53-659 Wrocław, Poland [ORCID]

Journal Name

Energies

Volume

15

Issue

22

First Page

8478

Year

2022

Publication Date

2022-11-13