The feed coal used in power plants contains various elements,
organic constituents, inorganic contents such as naturally radioactive potassium, and minerals with inclusions of trace elemental
uranium and thorium, each with various physiochemical characteristics in regard to the decay products, their associated half-lives,
decay modes, decay energies, leachability etc. About2.310
9
kg
of this highly calorific form of coal is required in modern plants to
produce 1 GW of electrical energy, also yielding of the order
of 310
8
kg of ash (Beck and Miller, 1980).