Behaviour of radionuclides released into environment is crucial for further evaluation of any kind of possible effects. Possibility of observation how does a radionuclide behave in natural environment is limited to very few post accidental areas. However, valuable observation can be collected at areas where enhanced concentration of natural radionuclides is presented caused by activity of non-nuclear industry. One example is area affected by release of radium rich brines from coal mines (Upper Silesia, south of Poland) that let one observe radium and its decay product behaviour in freshwater ecosystem from long-term perspective.

Selected as long-term observatory site former mine water reservoir allowed identification of processes leading to accumulation of radium in bottom sediments and observation of its further behaviour from 17-years-time perspective. New data were collected during two-years monitoring campaign and compared with archive data on radioactivity in water and sediments collected in 1999. Radium-barium co-precipitation process was identified as main source of sediments heavy contamination, however, radium chemical form resulted from this process is insoluble and not easy migrate to other environmental compartments, what was proved by low ²²⁶Ra and ²¹⁰Pb transfer to water measured under laboratory condition and to biota observed on site. As barium is not always present in mine radium rich brines a discussion is launched what would happen when such waters are released into environment based on simple laboratory experiment.

In main conclusion is underlined that the current radium activity concentration in sediments is lower than expected only considering radioactive decay. Distribution of ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ra and ²¹⁰Pb in sediment profiles suggest that bio- or mechanical turbation (e.g. local flood) is responsible for significant ²²⁶Ra deficiency observed.

释放到环境中的放射性核素的行为对于进一步评估任何可能的影响至关重要。观察放射性核素在自然环境中的行为的可能性仅限于极少数的事故后区域。但是，在非核工业活动引起天然放射性核素浓度升高的地区，可以收集到有价值的观察结果。一个例子是受煤矿（波兰南部上西里西亚）释放的富含镭的盐水影响的地区，该地区使人们可以长期观察镭在淡水生态系统中的行为及其衰变产物。

被选作长期观测站的原矿井水库，可以确定导致镭沉积在底部沉积物中的过程，并从17年的角度观察其进一步的行为。在为期两年的监测活动中收集了新数据，并与1999年收集的有关水和沉积物中放射性的存档数据进行了比较。镭-钡共沉淀过程被确定为沉积物重度污染的主要来源，但是，由此产生的镭化学形式该过程不溶且不易迁移到其他环境区域，低²²⁶ Ra和²¹⁰证明了这一点铅转移到实验室条件下测量的水中，并转移到现场观察到的生物区系。由于富含镭的卤水中并不总是存在钡，因此根据简单的实验室实验，讨论将此类水释放到环境中时会发生什么。

主要结论是，仅考虑放射性衰变，当前沉积物中的镭活度浓度低于预期。沉积物中²²⁶ Ra，²²⁸ Ra和²¹⁰ Pb的分布表明，生物或机械扰动（例如局部洪水）是造成²²⁶ Ra缺乏的主要原因。