f Geophysical monitoring for the Hungarian uranium remediation

After the abandonment of uranium mining and ore processing activity in Mecsek mountains, a throughout close-out and remediation work has been started which is one of the biggest environmental protection project of Hungary. The sources of pollution are the objects created during the 40 years mining and milling operation, the open-air deposition of the waste material from the exploited cca. 18 million m3 rock. The most important polluting sources are the underground mines, the mining and milling facilities and areas, the transporting roads and pipelines, the waste rock piles, the alkaline heap leaching piles and first of all the two tailings pounds. In addition to the conventional mining remediation tasks the neighbourhood of a big city (Pécs), the contamination risk of its only underground drinking water reservoir and the radioactive pollution of the environment are also arise. The operated environmental monitoring system is unichronic with the Mecsek uranium industry. In that respect it preceded the usual practice of the age, and recently plays a particular role in the Hungarian environmental geophysics. Using the historical results of the monitoring system, completing with other surveys, a comprehensive environmental study has been created, which determine the most important tasks for the next 5 years. The study summarises the features all of the polluting objects (quantity, composition, radioactivity, horizontal and vertical delineation etc.) and risks, outlines the basic principles of environmental (first of all water) and radiation protection, and determines the main remediation tasks together with the related monitoring system.