Startseite Radiochemical investigation of TENORM waste associated with non-nuclear industries: iron and steelmaking – case study
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Radiochemical investigation of TENORM waste associated with non-nuclear industries: iron and steelmaking – case study

  • Ahmed M. Shahr El-Din EMAIL logo , Yasser T. Mohamed und Elsayed M. El Afifi
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 26. September 2025
Radiochimica Acta
Aus der Zeitschrift Radiochimica Acta

Abstract

The industry of iron and steel production is considered as one of the global economic backbones, and has been worldwide ranked as one of the largest industrial sources of environmental contamination. The radiometric measurements by γ- and α-spectroscopy indicated that the steel waste samples contain natural radionuclides (226Ra and 228Ra) below the exemption safe limits set by the ICRP and IAEA. The estimated radiological hazard indices as external hazards (Iγ1, Iγ2 & Iγ3) and internal hazard (I α ) were below the maximum safe limit (i.e., <1). The estimated ecological risk indices of Cr, Fe, Mn and Ni in the steel waste as single indices (EF, CF and Er) and integrated indices (CD, PLI and RI) revealed that the accumulated steel waste in its physical state has low ecological risk to the surrounded environment (RI < 150). Moreover, the mobilization behavior of radionuclides and heavy metals in steel waste was investigated using two standard leaching methods (TCLP and EU) to simulate the natural wetting conditions such as rain or groundwater. It is found that natural γ-emitters (e.g., 228Ra, 226Ra, 214Pb, 214Bi and 210Pb) and α-emitters (e.g., 232Th, 238U, 226Ra, 210Po and 222Rn) are detected in the extraction solution@1 of TCLP test with low activity levels below the safe limits (<10 Bq/L). Also, the concentrations of Fe and Cr were 17.5 and 2.2-folds above the recommended safe limits in drinking water set by the WHO, respectively. Regarding to speciation diagrams, 226Ra in the steel waste samples can be mobilized out as soluble acetate species (CH3COO–226Ra–OH and/or 226Ra(CH3COO)2), while the highly toxic Cr6+ is leached out as soluble anionic species of chromates (HCrO4− and CrO42−) and/or dichromate (HCr2O7−) and Cr2O72−. Thus, these wastes can be managed to prevent or minimize their hazards; either long-term storage in designated landfills (i.e., engineered), or recycled in civil engineering applications as additives in the cement industry, and roadbed construction…etc.

Keywords: steel waste; radionuclides; heavy metals; Cr6+; TCLP & EU tests
Corresponding author: Ahmed M. Shahr El-Din, Analytical Chemistry and Control Department, Hot Laboratories and Waste Management Center (HLWMC), Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA), P.O. 13759, Cairo, Egypt, E-mail:

Acknowledgments

Authors are thankful to the Department of Analytical Chemistry and Control, Hot Laboratories and Waste Management Center for kind cooperation and help in providing necessary laboratory facilities to carry out this work.

  1. Research ethics: Not applicable.

  2. Informed consent: Not applicable.

  3. Author contributions: Ahmed M. Shahr El-Din, Yasser T. Mohamed, and Elsayed M. El Afifi put the idea of research points and the conceptualization. Ahmed M. Shahr El-Din is conducting a research and investigation process, specifically performing the experiments. Ahmed M. Shahr El-Din, Yasser T. Mohamed, and Elsayed M. El Afifi writing, review, editing and visualization.

  4. Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.

  5. Competing interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

  6. Research funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

  7. Data availability: Not applicable.

Highlights

  1. The iron and steel industry is one of the sources of environmental contamination.

  2. Nuclear and non-nuclear evaluation was performed for the TENORM waste samples.

  3. The steel waste contains an enhanced concentration of highly toxic heavy metals.

  4. Activity concentrations of the natural radionuclides are below the permitted safe limits.

  5. Steel wastes can be utilized in civil engineering applications.

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Received: 2025-05-30
Accepted: 2025-09-02
Published Online: 2025-09-26

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https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2025-0055
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