National Mineral Policy 2006 - Department of Mines

are disposed of in the mined-out area or at other locations on the beaches, the backgroundradiation in those areas will increase. On the other hand, the tailings resulting from the initialconcentration of heavy minerals from raw sand through wet operations, i.e. spiral separation,generates primarily silica sand (80 per cent), and back filling of these tailings into the minedoutareas will have a net positive impact as far as radiological aspects are concerned.7.87 The concerns of radiological safety and the enforcement of the Atomic Energy(Radiation Protection) Rules, 2004 are addressed by AERB. Mineral separation andprocessing activities of BSMs need to be monitored so as to prevent exposure to radiationboth of occupational workers and the public in the mining area during operational as well aspost-operational periods. For this purpose, AERB stipulates the radiological safetyrequirements and enforces them through appropriate regulatory mechanisms. According tothe current dispensation, the tailings containing monazite are to be stored and disposed of bythe concerned company at its own cost and in accordance with the rules and regulationsframed by AERB. This condition is contained in the licence given by the DAE under theAtomic Energy Act.7.88 As mentioned earlier (paragraph 7.68), in the industry presentation to the Committeeit was stated that the procedures prescribed by AERB in the DAE licence are verycomplicated and severe. The reality on the ground does not call for such excessive action,which is a disincentive to mining of BSMs. It is true that tailings will get enriched inmonazite concentration consequent to the separation of values such as ilmenite, rutile, zircon,garnet, sillimanite, etc. and disposal of such tailings back into the mined-out areas couldresult in some increase in the background radiation levels in these areas. However, in mostcases, such increases in the background radiation levels are not significant. This is due to thefact that there is a sizeable variation in the radiation background levels in these areas fromlocation to location, even within short distances. The increased background radiation levelson account of tailings disposal are in many cases within the prevailing variations in theexisting radiation background levels. Also, many of the locations where beach sand miningand tailings disposal is being carried out presently are not inhabited areas. In the few caseswhere tailings disposal can give rise to significant increase in background radiation levels,appropriate disposal methods such as placing the tailings in a dug-out pit and providing acover of fresh soil can be specified.180