Lead isotopes as seepage indicators around a uranium tailings dam

The concentrations of lead and the ratios of lead isotopes were measured in a tailings dam at a uranium mine in Australia and in groundwater from boreholes around the dam. A plan showing the location of the dam and the boreholes is included. The concentration of lead in the borehole waters was very low, and there was a marked difference between the lead isotope ratios of the borehole waters and the dam water, indicating that there was no detectable leakage of uranium-derived lead from the dam into the groundwater.