Incorporating the radiological effects and environmental impact assessment of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) into the life cycle environmental optimisation of bauxite residue (BR) valorisation

Abstract

Bauxite Residue (BR) is a potentially valuable source of metals and construction materials, which the ETN REDMUD project aims to develop technologies to exploit. Bauxite contains low levels of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM), which are concentrated in BR, and could potentially be released during BR valorisation, or further concentrated in novel products resulting from BR valorisation. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a well-established and standardised methodology to quantify the potential impacts arising from the life cycle of products and services, however it is not currently possible use it to assess the radiological impacts of NORM. The inclusion of NORM exposure in LCA is an important step to avoid burden shifting in the environmental optimisation of BR valorisation.