NORM risk assessment for the Søve mining complex, Norway

The Søve site is a disused mining complex in Telemark County, Norway, exhibiting enhanced levels of naturally occurring radionuclides from the 238U and 232Th decay series. The nascent General Assessment Methodology Process (‘GAMP’), developed under IAEA’s EMRAS II programme, has been applied at the site. The a priori fixed screening criteria were exceeded in the scenario, precipitating the requirement to undertake a more detailed assessment. The USDOE’s RESRAD-OFFSITE code was employed to investigate potential changes in activity concentrations in various environmental compartments over time and the contribution of various exposure pathways to effective doses. Owing to problems associated with model parameterisation and results interpretation a simple leaching and groundwater migration compartmental model was also applied. This allowed activity concentrations in three waste compartments to be calculated with time. Furthermore, an existing external dose-rate model that correlates information on activity concentrations with depth in soil to dose rates in air above ground has been used to estimate prospective external dose-rates to humans and evaluate the efficacy of applying various remediation options