In-Situ Radium Activity Measurements for NORM Assessment and Remediation

In-Situ Radium Activity Measurements for NORM Assessment and Remediation Charles R. Greer; Charles R. Greer Growth Energy Services, Inc. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Mark. R. Landress Mark. R. Landress Growth Energy Services, Inc. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Paper presented at the SPE/EPA Exploration and Production Environmental Conference, Houston, Texas, March 1995. Paper Number: SPE-29714-MS https://doi.org/10.2118/29714-MS Published: March 27 1995 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Get Permissions Search Site Citation Greer, Charles R., and Mark. R. Landress. "In-Situ Radium Activity Measurements for NORM Assessment and Remediation." Paper presented at the SPE/EPA Exploration and Production Environmental Conference, Houston, Texas, March 1995. doi: https://doi.org/10.2118/29714-MS Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll ProceedingsSociety of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)SPE Health, Safety, Security, Environment, Search Advanced Search AbstractThe measurement of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) in soils and sludges associated with oil field production sites and waste pits traditionally has been performed by estimating radium-226 levels using gamma scintillation detectors and selective laboratory measurements on solid samples. NORM contamination in pits and ponds pose a particular challenge in terms of manpower and cost using current sampling and evaluation methods. Physical conditions and sample costs often limit the number of samples that are collected, and potentially results in serious errors in estimating NORM waste.This paper will discuss a direct in-situ measurement technique to detect radium-226 which has been developed to overcome the limitations of standard NORM sampling techniques. Operational experience has demonstrated the effectiveness of this method for remediation which provides low cost and near real-time analysis for radium-226 in the subsurface. A case study is presented using this technique for a NORM pit remediation.IntroductionThe development of in-situ radium-226 analysis originated with the need to rapidly characterize and monitor subsurface conditions for assessment and remediation of NORM contaminated pits and ponds with data resolution on the order of 15 cm. The technique is an outgrowth of methods that are applied routinely in both the uranium mining and petroleum industries for subsurface measurement of natural and man-made radioactive isotopes. The in-situ analysis technique presented here relies on gamma-ray spectrum analysis to measure radium-226 daughter isotopes at NORM contaminated sites without the need to collect physical samples at each sample interval. This in-situ technique has been effectively applied to the characterization and remedial monitoring of a submerged NORM contaminated waste pit where physical collection of samples from all NORM contaminated zones of interest would have been economically and technically prohibitive.P. 253 Keywords: society of petroleum engineers, norm contamination, spe 029714, analysis method, instrument reading, reduction, calibration, depth interval, instrument, contamination Subjects: Environment, Information Management and Systems, Naturally occurring radioactive materials This content is only available via PDF. 1995. Society of Petroleum Engineers You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.