Abstract:Radionuclide specific activities of discharge water, percolating water, and shallow groundwater of tailings periphery were measured respectively. Nearby residents drink water directly from shallow groundwater, whose radionuclide doses were estimated and evaluated. The results show that radionuclide specific activity of 238U in discharge water, percolating water, and shallow groundwater of tailings periphery was 5.80, 8.10 and 2.38 mg/L respectively, and radionuclide specific activity of 226Ra was 1.55, 2.95×10-1 and 5.68×10-3 Bq/L respectively. Two kinds of radionuclide lead to the total effective dose of 96.1 mSv, approximately one order of magnitude higher than reference levels. The groundwater in study area is unsafe to drink as its radioactivity levels seriously exceed the according standard.