Modern technologies for radium removal from water – Polish mining industry case study

In the formation waters, occurring in coal mines in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, Poland different pollutants are present which may cause damages to the environment, among them radium isotopes. In several collieries the radium removal from mine water was necessary to mitigate negative results of radium release with mine effluents. The most efficient method of radium removal is based on the application of barium chloride, implemented in full technical scale in two of Polish collieries. Another possibility of removal radium isotopes from salty waters is an application of zeolites. In this paper, a review of different techniques is given, showing possibilities of application of different methods of radium removal, its advantages and drawbacks. •Water treatment technologies for removal of natural radionuclides are applied in mining industry.•In Polish collieries mitigation measures were applied for radium removal.•For removal of radium isotopes from mine waters, specific methods must be applied, due to high salinity of brines and the presence of other contaminants.•Implementation of treatment technologies proved, that the best method of radium removal from sulphate rich water is the use of barium chloride.