Measurement of {sup 222}Rn flux, {sup 222}Rn emanation and {sup 226}Ra concentration from injection well pipe scale

The presence of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) has been recognized since the early 1930s in petroleum reservoirs and in oil and gas production and processing facilities. NORM was typically observed in barite scale that accumulated on the interior of oil production tubing and in storage tank and heater-treater separation sludge. Recent concern has been expressed over the health impacts from the uncontrolled release of NORM to the public. There are several potential exposure pathways to humans from oil-field NORM. Among these is inhalation of radon gas and its daughter products. For this exposure pathway to be of any significance, radon must first be released from the NORM matrix and diffuse in free air. The radon emanation fraction refers to the fraction of radon atoms produced by the decay of radium, that migrate from the bulk material as free gaseous atoms. The purpose of this investigation was to characterize the radon release rates from NORM-scale contaminated production tubing being stored above ground, characterize the radon emanation fraction of the bulk scale material when removed from the tubing, and characterize the radium concentrations of the scale. Accurate characterization of {sup 222}Rn emanation fractions from pipe scale may dictate the type of disposal options available for this waste. Characterization of radon release from stored pipes will assist in determining if controls are needed for workers or members of the public downwind from the source. Due to the sensitive nature of this data, the location of this facility is not disclosed