J Radioanal Nucl Chem (2014) 299:1453–1459
DOI 10.1007/s10967-013-2814-2
Distribution of thorium in soils surrounding the rare-earth
tailings reservoir in Baotou, China
Rou-yu Li • Qiang Li • Sheng Chen •
Feng-chang Wu • De-zhi Sun • Hai-qing Liao
Received: 15 August 2013 / Published online: 12 November 2013
Ó Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary 2013
Abstract Thorium distribution was investigated in the
soils surrounding the rare-earth (RE) tailings reservoir near
the Baotou grassland of Inner Mongolia, northern China.
Totally 77 soil samples were collected from 8 different
directions in the periphery of the RE tailings reservoir, and
then were determined for 232Th. The 232Th activity degree
ranges from 9.1 to 307.1 Bq kg-1 with an average value of
42.4 Bq kg-1. In some samples, the degree is higher than
that of global average, showing that these soils were polluted
by thorium. There is a high linear correlation coefficient
between the thorium diffusion coefficient parameter and the
wind intensity parameter which indicates that the distribu-
tion of 232Th is mainly correlated with wind speed and
direction. The geo-accumulation index method was used to
evaluate the level of thorium pollution, and the Kriging
method was applied to estimate the land area at each level.
By calculation, result shows that the area at each pollution
level is 2.10 km2 with medium-strong pollution, 38.29 km2
De-zhi Sun and Hai-qing Liao contributed equally to this study.
R. Li  S. Chen  D. Sun (&)
Beijing Key Laboratory for Source Control Technology of Water
Pollution, College of Environmental Science and Engineering,
Beijing Forestry University, 35 Qinghua East Road, Haidian
District, Beijing 100083, China
e-mail: sdzlab@126.com
Q. Li
Yining Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, 529 Jinlin,
Development District, Yining 835000, Xinjiang, China
F. Wu  H. Liao (&)
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk
Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental
Sciences, 8 Dayangfang, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012,
China
e-mail: liaohq@craes.org.cn
with medium pollution, and 47.19 km2 with slight pollution.
The remaining 738.63 km2 of land investigated is clear from
thorium pollution.
Keywords Baotou  Tailings reservoir  Soils 
Thorium  Distribution
Introduction
Bayan Obo deposit, located near Baotou in China’s Inner
Mongolia, has the largest repository of rare-earth (RE)
resources in the world. It has been recorded as a mixed type
RE deposit of monazite and bastnaesite. There monazite
contains a high concentration (*3 %) of naturally formed
thorium [1], which is much enough to change the compo-
sitions of radionuclides in natural soil, thereby exerting an
impact on terrestrial ecosystems [2–6]. A previous study
shows that in Brazil, the mining and ore-dressing process in
six mines caused uranium and thorium exposure, putting
workers and nearby residents into heavy radiation [7].
Baotou city has a RE smelting industrial zone, where
unused thorium associated with RE from the low-temper-
ature RE calcination process goes to waste water and waste
slag. These wastes, containing a large portion of thorium,
were eventually discharged into the RE tailings reservoir.
Over past 30 years, the RE industry in Baotou has devel-
oped intensively, but lack of effective pollution control has
resulted in thorium expansion and accumulation [8]. The RE
tailings reservoir has become pollution source by being left
open to environment, damaging the soils around the tailings
reservoir [9]. Dusts containing thorium are carried by wind
from the tailings reservoir to surrounding areas, then turned into
sediments, went deep into soils [10]. Thorium and its decay
products not only pose a potential threat to human health but
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1454
Fig. 1 Map showing the spatial
distribution of the sampling
points
also to plants, finally poison the food chain [11–16]. In October
2005, fifteen academicians from the Chinese Academy of
Sciences tried to draw social eyeballs to this situation in the
paper ‘‘The emergency appeal on the protection of thorium and
RE resources of Bayan Obo to avoid radioactive contamination
in Yellow River and Baotou’’ [17]. The government paid great
attention and actively conducted research on pollution control
of thorium. Guo et al. collected soil samples from seven dif-
ferent locations in Baotou RE industrial area. They found the
concentration of thorium in soil collected from the cropland
near a road paved with mineral residues was twice higher than
the background value. The highest was seven times in soil
collected from a temporary deposit site for slag. They also
found that the pH value and organic matter in the soils are
important factors in the migration and transformation of dif-
ferent thorium forms [18, 19]. Plants growth and phosphate
have significant effects on the bioavailability of thorium in soil.
Unfortunately, due to lack of basic data on the distribution of
thorium in Baotou, it is currently impossible to accurately
assess the degree and region of pollution from the thorium
originating in the RE tailings reservoir.
In this paper, we investigated the distribution of thorium
in the soils surrounding the RE tailings reservoir. The main
factors influencing thorium distribution were further dis-
cussed. The geo-accumulation index method was used to
comprehensively evaluate the ecological risk of thorium in
the soils surrounding the tailings reservoir. The region
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J Radioanal Nucl Chem (2014) 299:1453–1459
polluted at each level was estimated in concert with geo-
graphic information data.
Experiment and methods
Study area
The Baotou RE tailings reservoir is located 12 km to the
west of Baotou City, at the junction of the Kundulun and
Jiuyuan Districts. The reservoir was formally put into use
in 1965 as a ground-type reservoir, with a size of *3.2 km
from east to west, and about 3.5 km from south to north
roughly 10 km2 as a whole, Its effective capacity is 68.83
million m3. The Baotou area has an inland arid climate,
with low temperature and little rain. Chestnut soil is the
main soil type. The RE ore from Bayan Obo mine is
transported by railway and pipelines to Baotou Dressing
Plant. After dressing and smelting process at Baotou Steel
RE and Baotou Huamei RE, two hi-tech companies
(Fig. 1), remaining pulp is stored in Baotou RE tailings
reservoir.
Soil sample collection
In August 2012, in the periphery of the Baotou RE tailings
reservoir, 77 sampling points were equally plotted in eight
J Radioanal Nucl Chem (2014) 299:1453–1459
directions (Fig. 1). The overall coverage of sampling area
was nearly 826.2 km2. While in actual action, the amounts
and spatial distributions of the sampling points were
appropriately adjusted according to the soil properties. At
each point, five samples were collected and uniformly
mixed. The sampling depth was 20 cm under the surface
layer.
Sample treatment
The soil samples were well mixed after removing extra-
neous materials such as roots, stones and gravel. They were
firstly air-dried for about 10 days on polythene sheets in
stainless steel trays. Then the samples were heated in an
oven at 110 °C for 48 h until the sample weight became
constant. After that, the soil aggregates were broken down
and pulverized to particle size of 0.2 mm mesh. A
0.1–0.2 g sample was put in an air-tight cylindrical Teflon
container, mixed with 5 mL of concentrated HNO3, 2 mL
of concentrated HCl, and 1 mL of concentrated HF. Cap-
ped the container and put it in a stainless steel bowl. The
sample solution in the bowl was digested in a muffle fur-
nace at 150–160 °C for 6 h. After cooling and uncapping
the container, solution was then heated on a hot plate at
120–130 °C to remove the acids until about 0.5 mL
remained. The remaining solution was diluted to 10 mL
with ultra-pure water, which is ready for measurement.
After the internal standard 209Bi was added, the 232Th
concentration was determined by inductively coupled
plasma mass spectrometry.
The standard solutions of thorium and bismuth were
respectively provided by the Beijing Research Institute of
Chemical Industry, under the Ministry of Nuclear Industry,
and the China Institute of Metrology.
Instrumentation
All measurements were performed on an inductively cou-
pled plasma mass spectrometer (Thermo Elemental X7,
Waltham, USA). A quartz concentric nebulizer was used as
the sample introduction system. The forward power was
1,200 W. The cooling gas flow rates was 13.0 L min-1.
The nebulizer gas flow rate was 0.8 L min-1. The auxiliary
gas flow rate was 0.8 L min-1. The sample solution uptake
rate was 0.8 mL min-1.
Results and discussion
Distribution of thorium
The range of 232Th activity is 9.1–307.1 Bq kg-1 in the
soil samples around the Baotou RE tailings reservoir, with
1455
an average value of 42.4 Bq kg-1. This value is higher
than that of the global average of 30 Bq kg-1 and China’s
average of 40 Bq kg-1 [1]. For comparison, the activities
of 232Th in samples were divided in different ranges. The
number of samples of each range is presented in Fig. 2.
The 232Th activities in 47 soil samples are higher than the
global average, and the maximum 232Th activity in sample
is one order of magnitude higher than the global average.
The 232Th activities in 22 soil samples are higher than the
China’s average. The 232Th activity ranges and averages
are given in Table 1, together with data on 232Th activity in
soils around the uranium mining area and phosphate fer-
tilizer factory. Trace thorium pollution was found in some
soil samples in the Kaduna state of Nigeria, due to the
influence of phosphate fertilizer production [20]. Without a
doubt, thorium pollution in the RE industry is a more
serious problem than the phosphate fertilizer industry. As
for uranium mining, thorium activities in the surrounding
soils are significantly higher than the global average,
especially in India. It is certain that thorium pollution is
present in soils surrounding uranium mining areas [21, 22].
The range of thorium activity in soils in the vicinity of the
Baotou RE tailings reservoir is comparable to that in the
uranium mining area. However, the average 232Th activity
in the RE area is lower than that in uranium mining.
The quartic spline interpolation (V4) calculation was
used to determine the distribution of 232Th activity in soils
surrounding the Baotou RE tailings reservoir. As displayed
in Fig. 3, high 232Th activity appeared in the surface soils is
close to the tailings reservoir. With the tailings reservoir as
the center, the sampling points were distributed in eight
directions: east, west, south, north, southeast, southwest,
northeast, and northwest. The 232Th activity of soil samples
decreased as the sampling distance from the tailings res-
ervoir increased. This is similar to the distribution of 232Th
300-400
200-300
100-200
90-100
80-90
(Bq•kg-1)
70-80
60-70
50-60
232Th
40-50
30-40
20-30
10-20
0-10
0 10 20 30
frequency
232
Fig. 2 Frequency distribution of Th activity in sample soils
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1456 J Radioanal Nucl Chem (2014) 299:1453–1459

232
Table 1 Analytical results for Th activity in RE tailings reservoir and foreign researches soils
Category Place Thorium activity (Bq kg-1) Reference
Range Mean

Phosphate fertilizer plant Kaduna state, Nigeria 19.6–53.2 [20]

Uranium mining Stara Planina Mountain in Serbia 6.4–108.9 51.8 [21]
Uranium mining Lambapur, Nagarjuna Sagar Reservoir, India 54.3–222.4 141.0 [22]
Uranium mining Mallapuram, Nagarjuna Sagar Reservoir, India 233.2–311.7 271.1 [22]
Uranium mining Peddagattu, Nagarjuna Sagar Reservoir, India 32.1–176.7 93.8 [22]
RE mining Tailings bam, Baotou, China 9.1–307.1 42.4 This study

Fig. 3 Contour map of 232Th

activity surrounding the RE
tailings reservoir at Baotou

in the soils surrounding the tin mining in the Kaduna state The data were extracted by the sampling directions. The
of Nigeria [23]. The decreasing trends of 232Th activity are wind intensity parameter F was applied to synthetically
distinct in different directions in Baotou. The isoconcen- describe the wind speed and wind frequency. It is the sum
trations of thorium spread narrowly in the northeast and
southwest directions, but they spread widely in the north-
west and southeast directions, especially in the southeast N
direction. Considering that the RE dressing and smelting 36.32
plants are close to the tailings reservoir, the plants’ distri- N N
bution is not the main factor causing the elliptical diffusion W E
of thorium from the tailings reservoir. The reasonable 30.93
causes need further investigation.
2.06
Factors influencing thorium distribution 6.30
W E
7.84
Previous studies have shown that the distributions of heavy 10.79
16.01
metals in soils around the mining and metallurgy industry
factories and coal burning power plant correlate with pre- 14.85
vailing wind direction to a certain extent [24, 25]. Con-
S S
sidering the low temperature and drought as well as the W E
windy climate in Baotou city, the action of the wind may
be the main factor that influences thorium distribution in
S
the surrounding soils. Meteorological data on wind speed
and wind frequency in Baotou was therefore collected [26]. Fig. 4 Rose diagram of wind intensity in Baotou city

123
J Radioanal Nucl Chem (2014) 299:1453–1459 1457

40 followed by that in the northwest and north directions. Air

diffusion is weaker in the other directions.
Wind Intensity (F) 30 R² = 0.8199
To further clarify the influence of wind field on thorium
diffusion at the tailings reservoir, the relationship between
wind intensity and diffusion coefficient was investigated.
20
The diffusion coefficient of thorium was calculated by the
least squares method. The 232Th activity of the soil samples
10
taken at 0 km distance from the tailings reservoir was set as
the initial values. The global average activity of
0 30 Bq kg-1 for 232Th in soils was then applied as the ter-
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
minal value. The model for the diffusion coefficient cal-
Diffusion Coefficient (a)
culation is described as follows,
Fig. 5 Relationship between diffusion coefficient and wind intensity
Ci ¼ ðC0  30Þ  eaDi þ30 ð2Þ
where a is the diffusion coefficient parameter, C0 is the
of the products of average wind speed and corresponding 232
Th activity of the soil sample at 0 km from the tailings
annual wind frequency in each direction. The calculated
reservoir, Ci is the 232Th activity of the soil sample at
model is described as follows,
different distances, and Di is the distance between the soil
X5
F¼ v f ð1Þ sample and the tailings reservoir.
i¼1 i i
The linear relationship is fitted between the diffusion
where vi is the average wind speed in each speed range, coefficient and the corresponding wind intensity as shown
since the wind speed was divided in five ranges in Baotou in Fig. 5. The linear correlation coefficient R2 between the
city, and fi is wind frequency of the corresponding wind thorium diffusion coefficient parameter (a) and the wind
speed range. intensity parameter (F) reaches 0.8199, indicating that the
The calculated results of wind intensity parameter F in diffusion of thorium from the tailings reservoir is mainly
each direction are shown in Fig. 4. It can be seen that north affected by the wind field effect. In the direction with
and northwest winds prevail in Baotou, followed by relatively strong wind intensity, the 232Th activity in the
southeast and south winds. Therefore, air diffusion should soil was high and the diffusion distance was longer. The
be the strongest in the south and southeast directions, diffusion path of thorium from the tailings reservoir can be

Fig. 6 Distribution of pollution

degree for thorium in Baotou

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speculated as follows: 232Th laden dust from the tailings
reservoir floated in the air after the surface water evapo-
rated due to the arid climate in Baotou city. The dust was
transported by wind since no dust suppression measures
were taken at the tailings reservoir. The dust ultimately
settled in the surroundings soils, depositing the 232Th [10].
Evaluation of thorium pollution
The geo-accumulation index method was proposed by the
German scholar Müller [27] in 1969. It is a quantitative index
developed in Europe and widely used in research to evaluate
the level of heavy metal pollution in soils and sediments. In
the present work, we used the geo-accumulation index
method to evaluate the level of thorium pollution in soils
surrounding the Baotou RE tailings reservoir. The Kriging
method was applied to estimate the area of thorium pollution.
The calculated geo-accumulation indexes for thorium are
interpolated in Fig. 6. The total land area at each level of
thorium pollution was calculated, and medium-strong level
was found to cover ca. 2.10 km2, the medium level cover ca.
38.29 km2, and the slight cover ca. 47.19 km2. The
remaining 738.63 km2 had not been affected by thorium.
Conclusion
The 232Th activity in soil samples taken from the vicinity
of the Baotou RE tailings reservoir is 9–307 Bq kg-1,
higher than the global average. The distribution of 232Th in
the soils surrounding the tailings reservoir is significantly
affected by wind field because the linear correlation coef-
ficient R2 between the thorium diffusion coefficient
parameter (a) and the wind intensity parameter (F) reaches
0.8199. The calculation of geo-accumulation index shows
that the maximum thorium affection reaches the medium to
strong level. However, the range of influence at this level is
not large, *2.10 km2. The total land area influenced by
thorium is about 87.58 km2.
Acknowledgments We thank the staff of the Institute of High
Energy Physics, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing) for
support. This work was jointly supported by the National Sciences
Foundation of China (41173117) and the Ministry of Environmental
Protection of China (Grant No. 201209012 and 2012467012).
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