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Shauna Landsberger MSPH Graham George, President Enviroklean Product Development Inc, (EPDI),Houston, Texas Slide 2 Outline NORM and TENORM in Oil Field Texas State Regulations Worker Safety Training Training Health Risks of working with NORM Obstacles of Working in the Oil and Gas Field Continuing Education in the Oil Field Slide 3 NORM and TENORM in the Oil Field Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) or Technically Enhanced Natural Occurring Radioactive Material (TENORM) Slide 4 Geological Information Uranium and Thorium collect between layers of sandstones. Hydrocarbons collect in traps made by faults and shales. www.loyno.edu/lucec/images/saltdome.jpg Slide 5 Geological Information 238 U and 232 Th are naturally present in the Earths crust and mantle. They are found in small amounts and are not significant components in most minerals Geological Locations Shales tend to absorb radionuclides and act as traps for hydrocarbons. Deposits can be located at the boundaries of sandstone layers. Slide 6 Geological Information Decay products of 238 U and 232 Th are 226 Ra (t 1/2 = 1630 years) and 228 Ra (t 1/2 = 5.8 years), respectively 238 U and 232 Th are insoluble and usually remain in place in the formation. 226 Ra and 228 Ra are more soluble than their parents and are mobilized by liquid Uranium, Thorium, and Radium have an affinity for crude oil Slide 7 Oil and Gas Wells (US Department of the Interior, 1999)Arial distribution in the continuous United States producing oil and gas wells through 1994. Slide 8 Oil and Gas Wells Three phases of oil and gas wells will be discussed. Drilling and Workover Operations Production Abandonment Slide 9 How Norm Is Brought to the Surface NORM is brought up to the surface by the transport of gas and oil products Produced water Drilling mud and sludge Evaporation ponds and pits Slide 10 Drilling and Workover Operations Drilling mud (a liquid used to lubricate the bit, bring cuttings to the surface, and hold back the formation) also come in contact with NORM and can be contaminated. Slide 11 Pipes with Radioactive Scale in the Oil Field Slide 12 Formation of Radioactive Scale in Pipes Slide 13 Slide 14 Formation of Radioactive Sludge in Production Equipment Sludge Slide 15 Abandonment Wells may be abandoned for a variety of reasons: The well is lost due to catastrophic equipment failure. Drilling complications do not allow the desired producing zones to be accessed. The well is producing too much water. It is no longer economically feasible to continue operations. Slide 16 West Texas Oil and Gas Field Slide 17 NORM Regulations NORM is regulated by state organizations rather than federal organization Texas has two organizations in charge of NORM regulations in Texas Rail Road Commission (RRC) Regulates disposal of oil and gas NORM Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Regulates NORM contaminated substances such as soil and equipment. Set regulations for storage, transportation and commercial distribution of the products from oil and gas drilling including produced water Slide 18 Who Can Benefit from NORM Training Employees working with NORM Either with decontamination or maintenance of equipment in the oil and gas field Employees of Oil and Gas Companies Anyone from a field worker to an executive Slide 19 Worker Safety Training Job Site Safety Emergency Preparedness Personal Protective Equipment Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) Slide 20 Job Site Safety Job site safety is an important concept to teach in the class and field It is ultimately the responsibility of the RSO on site to make sure that company protocols and safety measures are taken into effect It is also important for all employees to know the basic safety measures before starting work on a job site Slide 21 Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) Radiation Safety Officer is responsible for the day to day safety measures and on the job site training while in the field They are in charge of a safety meeting each day on the job site before work can start In charge of frisking out each employee as they leave the job site Slide 22 Job Site Safety Slide 23 Emergency Preparedness Teaching emergency procedures of the company is important During the class each person should know the basic emergency procedures that happen on job site Once on the job site the emergency procedures will be reinforced and shown where the emergency equipment is such as shower, eye wash, phone numbers, map to nearest emergency room Slide 24 Slide 25 Stressing the Importance of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) All workers must wear PPE while on job site This must be stressed during the class and everyday while in the field PPE can include: Gloves, fire retardant clothing, hard hat, safety glasses, steel toed boots, mask, self contained breathing apparatus, H2S monitor, TLD badge Slide 26 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Slide 27 Teaching Health Risks from NORM Exposure It is important to stress the importance of health effects when working with NORM both to the worker and the general public The radionuclides that pose the most risk in the oil and gas field are Ra-226, Ra-228, Rn-222 and Pb-210 More detail on the specific side effects is reinforced Slide 28 Teaching Health Risks from NORM Exposure It is vital to stress that if all the safety measures and precautions talked about during the course reduce the risk of the health effects from working with NORM The goal is for the employees to know there is risk involved in working with NORM but they have ways to reduce the risk Frisking Out is also revisited during this part of the course Slide 29 Obstacles of Training in Texas Oil and Gas Field English may not be the first language of the participants in the class There is a variety of educations levels Which means teaching to all levels of education It is critical to go over the basics of radiation including basic chemistry Slide 30 Over All Goals Slide 31 Continuous Education It is important that the workers are continuing to be reinforced with the key points they learned during the training On the job site training is important and new jobs and situations come up It is also important to keep up with any changing laws or regulations from state government agencies Slide 32 Thank You for Your Time Any Questions ?