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Studies of the Mobilization of Thoriun from the Norro Do Ferro

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

H. Eiseneud
Affiliation:
New York University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA;
W. Lei
Affiliation:
New York University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA;
R. Ballad
Affiliation:
New York University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA;
E. Penna Franca
Affiliation:
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil;
N. Niekeley
Affiliation:
Catholic Pontifical University, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil;
T. Cullen
Affiliation:
Catholic Pontifical University, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil;
K. Krauskopf
Affiliation:
Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
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Abstract

The Morro do Ferro1,2,3 is a hill on the Pocos de Caldas plateau in the state of of Minas Gerais, Brazil which, except for a few monazite beaches, may have the highest levels of natural radioactivity of any place on the surface of the earth (1–3 mK/hr). The radioactivity originates from an ore body located on the upper slopes of the hill (Fig. 1), which rises about 140 m above its surroundings to a maximum altitude of 1540 m. The ore body is estimated to contain about 20,000 metric tons of Th and a somewhat greater quantity of rare earths. The Morro do Ferro has been the site of a number of radiobiological studies conducted during the past 20 years.4,5,6,7

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1982

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References

REFERECES

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