Characterization and radiological impacts assessment of scale TENORM waste produced from oil and natural gas production in Egypt

Abdelbary, Hanan M.; El-Sofany, E.A.; Mohamed, Yasser T.; Abo-Aly, M.M.; Attallah, M. F.

doi:10.1007/s11356-019-06183-x

Cited by 20 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…This may result in significant economic costs associated with reduced production or internal cleaning via mechanical and chemical means (Todd & Yuan, 1992;Vetter & Phillips, 1970). The degree of NORM accumulation can vary substantially from one facility to another depending on many factors including the geological formation, environmental features (e.g., depth/pressure, acidity of formation water, ambient temperature), infrastructure material and operational practices of extraction (Abdelbary et al, 2019;Ali et al, 2019;Godoy & Petinatti da Cruz, 2003;Mitchell et al, 1980). For example, in Italy and Syria, scale is often composed of carbonates in contrast to Brazil and Egypt where scale contains very few carbonates, sulfates and silicates (Abdelbary et al, 2019;Godoy & Petinatti da Cruz, 2003;Vegueria et al, 2002).…”

Section: Decommissioning Of Oil and Gas Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The degree of NORM accumulation can vary substantially from one facility to another depending on many factors including the geological formation, environmental features (e.g., depth/pressure, acidity of formation water, ambient temperature), infrastructure material and operational practices of extraction (Abdelbary et al, 2019;Ali et al, 2019;Godoy & Petinatti da Cruz, 2003;Mitchell et al, 1980). For example, in Italy and Syria, scale is often composed of carbonates in contrast to Brazil and Egypt where scale contains very few carbonates, sulfates and silicates (Abdelbary et al, 2019;Godoy & Petinatti da Cruz, 2003;Vegueria et al, 2002). However, ubiquitous components of scale present among countries and petroleum structures include barite (BaSO 4 )and calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) with barite receiving the most research attention thus far (Neff, 2008;Neff et al, 1989).…”

Section: Decommissioning Of Oil and Gas Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecotoxicological effects of decommissioning offshore petroleum infrastructure: A systematic review

MacIntosh

Dafforn

Penrose

et al. 2021

Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology

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Successful decommissioning of subsea oil and gas infrastructure requires a safe and effective approach to assess and manage waste products. These products, often present as scale on internals of pipelines, include naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and trace metals. Understanding the potential effects of these contaminants on marine fauna is crucial to managing global decommissioning. This review is composed of two aspects: 1) a systematic review was conducted to synthesize literature on all contaminants associated with decommissioned offshore structures and the effects of NORM contaminants on marine organisms; 2) a critical review of current environmental regulations for decommissioning and characterization of petroleum scale and NORM components. Studies defining the chemical and radiological contaminants associated with decommissioned structures were very limited. The main source of contaminants was identified from offshore platforms, with none from subsea structures. Only three studies measured variable chemical effects of radium to organisms from scale materials in subsea oil and gas infrastructure. No studies measured effects on organisms from other NORM, such as lead-210 and polonium-210. Currently, there are no international regulations on subsea pipeline closure, with NORM being underreported and not addressed in environmental impact assessments. This review highlights research gaps from environmental monitoring and characterization of NORM associated with decommissioned structures. Key recommendations for future research include characterizing NORM scale and assessing effects of scale to marine organisms through direct organism exposure experiments. This review emphasizes the need to incorporate ecotoxicology into environmental risk assessment for offshore petroleum decommissioning.

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Section: Decommissioning Of Oil and Gas Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Decommissioning Of Oil and Gas Infrastructurementioning

confidence: 99%

Ecotoxicological effects of decommissioning offshore petroleum infrastructure: A systematic review

MacIntosh

Dafforn

Penrose

et al. 2021

Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology

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“…These studies report the characterization of NORM products from oil and gas exploration over the years. 1,9,[11][12][13][14] Since the characterization of these scales contributes to a better understanding of their chemical compositions and their formation and deposition mechanisms, assisting to create chemical products aimed at their prevention and removal. In addition to contributing to improvements in the control and monitoring of areas subject to higher levels of exposure, changes of the use or addition of personal protective equipment, as well as improvements in procedures for routine activities, aiming to reduce the exposure time of workers in critical areas, through the determination of activities concentrations and associated radiological indices, the goal of this work was to characterize scale samples from different parts of a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, determining their chemical and mineralogical compositions through the x-ray fluorescence (XRF) 15,16 and x-ray diffraction (XRD), 17,18 respectively, and their specific activities of 226 Ra and 228 Ra, [18][19][20][21] along with associated exposure indices, by high resolution gamma spectrometry technique.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of NORM‐type scales from the oil industry through spectrometry techniques and multivariate analysis

Izidório,

Santos,

Gama Filho

et al. 2023

X-Ray Spectrometry

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The oil industries have as main problem in their activities of formation of scales containing material of the naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) type on the internal walls of pipes and in some equipment that make up the process lines plant. This NORM can contribute to the exposure of workers during routine activities, either through external exposure, or internal, through inhalation or ingestion. Considering the concern with occupational exposure, environmental impacts and the plant's production capacity, resulting from the formation of the scales, this work characterized samples of scale by means of techniques of x‐ray fluorescence (XRF), x‐ray diffraction (XRD) and high‐resolution gamma spectrometry. The XRF showed concentrations of P, S, Cl, Ca, Mn, Fe, Sr, and Ba as the main elements of the sample; the XRD showed calcite and barite as predominant composition; in the gamma analysis, the concentrations of the activities varied from 104.6 to 1112.6 Bq kg−1 for 226Ra and from 16.4 to 385.2 Bq kg−1 for 228Ra, within the limits set by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The indices radium equivalent activity, absorbed dose rate and annual effective dose indices varied from 128.4 to 1665.9 Bq kg1; 58.4 to 748.0 nGy h−1 and 0.072 to 0.918 mSv y−1, respectively. Only the effective dose values were within the limits established by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, reinforcing the need for continuous monitoring on the platforms and the importance of keeping the radiological protection plan up to date, since the mobilization of NORM increases proportionally with the useful life of the production wells, thus increasing exposure indices.

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“…The term (NORM) used in the oil and gas industry stands for natural radioactive materials such as uranium and thorium. The radionuclides that are measured in the oil and gas industry are the result of the dissolution of two natural chains, uranium U238 and thorium Th232, where these elements have a long half-life and their presence in the soil depends on the geological structure [2].Natural radionuclides are present in oil and gas reservoirs in varying concentrations. These nuclides are released when oil and gas is extracted from the ground, to accompany oil and water to the surface of the earth, and move to production equipment such as pipelines and oil tanks, and settle inside them within the slag and crusts materials [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of NORM from oil refineries and fields northwest of Mosul

alsharook¹,

Yousuf²

2021

J.Edu.Sci.

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The uranium concentration and radioactivity of radon gas were measured in Al-Kasik refinery and Ain Zala field using the CR-39 detector. Soil and water samples associated with the production stages of oil, sludge and crude oil were collected. The levels of uranium concentration in soil ranged from 0.703 to 1.480ppm, in water samples from 0.681 to 0.716 ppm, in sludge samples from 0.849 to 1.014 ppm, and in crude oil from 0.785 to 0.933 ppm. As for the radioactivity of radon gas, when comparing the radon rate in the samples we obtained with the global values, it was found that it falls within the internationally permissible limit, where the radon rate in the soil was 12.81 Bq/kg and when compared with the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) which has a value of 32 Bq/kg, and in the produced water it was 8.66 Bq/kg compared to (UNSCEAR)which has a value of 50 Bq/kg. In sludge samples 11.81 Bq/kg and when compared with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) whose value is(8 − 5 × 10 5 ) Bq/kg, and in crude oil samples 10.56 Bq/kg and when compared with the International Federation of Oil and Gas Producer (IOGP) whose value is (800 − 4 × 10 5 ) Bq/kg. As for the alpha ray hazard index, the results showed that it is within the permissible limits internationally, where the results were less than 1 and therefore does not pose a threat to the health of workers and environment.

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Characterization and radiological impacts assessment of scale TENORM waste produced from oil and natural gas production in Egypt

Cited by 20 publications

References 52 publications

Ecotoxicological effects of decommissioning offshore petroleum infrastructure: A systematic review

Ecotoxicological effects of decommissioning offshore petroleum infrastructure: A systematic review

Characterization of NORM‐type scales from the oil industry through spectrometry techniques and multivariate analysis

Assessment of NORM from oil refineries and fields northwest of Mosul

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