Impact of coal mining disturbances on uranium migration in groundwater with prevention and remediation technologies
5 affiliations
- 1State Key Laboratory of Water Resource Protection and Utilization in Coal Mining, Beijing, 102211, China; Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China
- 2State Key Laboratory of Water Resource Protection and Utilization in Coal Mining, Beijing, 102211, China; Corresponding author.
- 3State Key Laboratory of Water Resource Protection and Utilization in Coal Mining, Beijing, 102211, China
- 4Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China
- 5Key Laboratory of Urban Stormwater System and Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Sino-Dutch R&D Centre for Future Wastewater Treatment Technologies, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, 100044, China; Corresponding author.
Abstract
Coal mining disturbance can elevate uranium concentrations in groundwater by 3–6 orders of magnitude above background levels, often exceeding the World Health Organization drinking water guideline (30 μg/L) by a factor of more than 1000. This study systematically reveals the synergistic mechanisms of cascading coupling among physical fracture fields (a 4- to 22-fold increase in hydraulic conductivity forming preferential flow pathways), chemical forcing (oxidative dissolution by acid mine drainage with pH < 4 followed by neutral carbonate complexation), and microbial regulation (dissimilatory sulfate/iron reduction and phosphate mineralization) that drive uranium mobilization and immobilization. A bimodal risk pattern of ''proximal acidic oxidation-driven dissolution and distal neutral carbonate complexation-driven dispersion'' is elucidated. A closed-loop source tracing system integrating baseline identification, pathway verification, causal matching, and exclusion analysis is developed to accurately discriminate anthropogenic mining disturbance from natural uranium anomalies. Based on this mechanistic understanding, an integrated collaborative governance framework of ''source prevention and control-process interruption-end remediation'' is proposed. This framework provides a theoretical basis and a technical pathway for the precise identification and long-term remediation of radioactive groundwater contamination in coal mining areas.
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BibTeX
@article{zhang2026impact,
title = {{Impact of coal mining disturbances on uranium migration in groundwater with prevention and remediation technologies}},
author = {Dongdong Zhang and Yutian Hu and Qiang Guo and Ruofei Wang and Rundong Li and Liting Hao},
journal = {Water Cycle},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.watcyc.2026.07.001},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watcyc.2026.07.001},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Impact of coal mining disturbances on uranium migration in groundwater with prevention and remediation technologies
AU - Dongdong Zhang
AU - Yutian Hu
AU - Qiang Guo
AU - Ruofei Wang
AU - Rundong Li
AU - Liting Hao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Water Cycle
DO - 10.1016/j.watcyc.2026.07.001
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watcyc.2026.07.001
AB - Coal mining disturbance can elevate uranium concentrations in groundwater by 3–6 orders of magnitude above background levels, often exceeding the World Health Organization drinking water guideline (30 μg/L) by a factor of more than 1000. This study systematically reveals the synergistic mechanisms of cascading coupling among physical fracture fields (a 4- to 22-fold increase in hydraulic conductivity forming preferential flow pathways), chemical forcing (oxidative dissolution by acid mine drainage with pH < 4 followed by neutral carbonate complexation), and microbial regulation (dissimilatory sulfate/iron reduction and phosphate mineralization) that drive uranium mobilization and immobilization. A bimodal risk pattern of ''proximal acidic oxidation-driven dissolution and distal neutral carbonate complexation-driven dispersion'' is elucidated. A closed-loop source tracing system integrating baseline identification, pathway verification, causal matching, and exclusion analysis is developed to accurately discriminate anthropogenic mining disturbance from natural uranium anomalies. Based on this mechanistic understanding, an integrated collaborative governance framework of ''source prevention and control-process interruption-end remediation'' is proposed. This framework provides a theoretical basis and a technical pathway for the precise identification and long-term remediation of radioactive groundwater contamination in coal mining areas.
SN - 2666-4453
ER -