1、A National Survey on Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) in Petroleum Production and Gas Processing Facilities Exploration and Production Department API Publication 71 O1 Novem ber, 1997 *b- Strategies for Today? Enuironmmzal Partnership One of the most significant long-term trends affec
2、ting the future vitality of the petroleum industry is the publics concerns about the environment, health and safety. Recognizing this trend, API member companies have developed a positive, forward-looking strategy called STEP: Strategies for Todays Environmental Partnership. This initiative aims to
3、build under- standing and credibility with stakeholders by continually improving our industrys envi- ronmental, health and safety performance; documenting performance; and communicating with the public. API ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH AND SAFETY MISSION AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES The members of the American P
4、etroleum Institute are dedicated to continuous efforts to improve the compatibility of our operations with the environment while economically devel- oping energy resources and supplying high quality products and services to consumers. We recognize our responsibility to work with the public, the gove
5、rnment, and others to develop and to use natural resources in an environmentally sound manner while protecting the health and safety of our employees and the public. To meet these responsibilities, API members pledge to manage our businesses according to the following principles using sound science
6、to prioritize nsks and to implement cost-effective management practices: To recognize and to respond to community concerns about our raw materials, prod- ucts and operations. To operate our plants and facilities, and to handle our raw materials and products in a manner tpat protects the environment,
7、 and the safety and health of our employees and the public. To make safety, health and environmental consider-ations a pnority in our planning, and our develop-ment of new products and processes. To advise promptly, appropriate officials, employ-ees, customers and the public of information on signif
8、icant industry-related safety, health and environmental hazards, and to recommend protective measures. To counsel customers, transporters and others in the safe use, transportation and dis- posal of our raw materials, products and waste materials. To economically develop and produce natural re-sourc
9、es and to conserve those resources by using energy efficiently. To extend knowledge by conducting or supporting research on the safety, health and environmental effects of our raw materials, products, processes and waste materials. To commit to reduce overall emission and waste generation. 9 To work
10、 with others to resolve problems created by handling and disposal of hazardous substances from our operations. To participate with government and others in creating responsible laws, regulations and standards to safeguard the community, workplace and environment. To promore these principles and prac
11、tices by sharing experiences and offering assis- tance to others who produce, handle, use; transport or dispose of similar raw materi- als, petroleum products and wastes. A National Occurrina (NORM) i Survey on Naturally Radioactive Material Petroleum Production and Gas Processing Facilities Explora
12、tion and Production Department API PUBLICATION 71 O1 PREPARED BY: Gordon H. Otto, University of Houston, July 1989 for the API NORM Issue Group NOVEMBER 1997 American Petroleum 1 Institute STD.API/PETRO PUBL 7101-ENGL 1977 0732290 Ob01330 87T W FOREWORD API publications may be used by anyone desirin
13、g to do so. Every effort has been made by the Institute to assure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained in them; however, the Institute makes no representation, warranty, or guarantee in connection with this publication and hereby expressly disclaims any liability or responsibility for
14、loss or damage resulting from its use or for the violation of any federal, state, or municipal regulation with which this publication may conflict. Suggested revisions are invited and should be submitted to the director of the Manufactur- ing, Distribution and Marketing Department, American Petroleu
15、m Institute, 1220 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005. - STD.API/PETRO PUBL 7LOL-ENGL 1997 I0732270 UbOL331 72b W PREFACE NATURALLY OCCURRING RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS PETROLEUM PRODUCING AND GAS PROCESSING FACILITIES The presence of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) in oil and gas pro
16、ducing operations has been recognized since the early 1930s when slightly elevated radium levels were detected in Russian oil fields. Over the years, scientists have studied various aspects of low level radiation from NORM associated with oil and gas produc- tion. Recently, in 1981, scale produced o
17、n large platforms located in the North Sea was found to contain NORM at measurable levels. In the United States, the issue of NORM in mineral scale deposits gained industry and government attention in 1986. During routine work on a well in Mississippi, barium sulfate scale deposited in production tu
18、bing was found to contain measurable quantities of NORM. Industry responded by 1) notifying appropriate state agencies and the Mid-Continent Oil it is of very low specific activity; and oil and gas well locations are typically widespread, thus, a natural dispersion of oilfield NORM is maintained. NO
19、RM produced at only a few relatively remote sites constitutes no appreciable addition to natural radiation background levels. following report by Dr. Otto presents information on the geographical occurrence of oilfield NORM, relating it to natural radiation back- ground levels, and points toward fur
20、ther understanding of why there are no known NORM environmental, health, or safety concerns associ- ated with oil and gas production sites. The small quantities of The J. C. Martin L Chairman - API Committee on NORM -2 - STD.API/PETRO PUBL 7101-ENGL 1997 0732290 b01333 5T D A National Survey on Natu
21、rally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) In Petroleum Producing and Gas Processing Facilities Tab1 e of Contents I. Introduction II. Summary of Results III. The Data IV. Additional Considerations V. Glossary VI. National Summary - Overview Figure 1 U.$. Total Measurements Figure 1A U.S. Gas Proc
22、essing Measurements Figure lB U.S. Production Facility Measurements Figure 2 U.S. Median Background Levels Figure 3 U.S. Median of Difference Over Background - Gas Processing Facilities Figure 4 U.$. Median of Difference Over Background - Production Facilities . Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Appendix 1 -
23、Statistical Data by Facility and Equipment - U.S. Difference Over Background by Equipment Types - U.S. (all observations) Difference Over Background by Equipment Types - U.S. (Observations in Excess of Background) NORM Incidence Measure by States (All Facilities) (Al 1 Observations) Appendix 2 - Sta
24、tistical Data,by Facility and Equipment - U.S. (Observations in Excess of Background) 1 1 2 3 4 5-6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 iii VII. State Summaries - overview* Alabama and Florida 18 19 Al as ka 29 Arkansas 39 Cal i forni a 49 Col orado 59 I11 inois 68 Kansas 75 Kentucky Louisiana Michigan Mi
25、ssissippi Montana Nebras ka 85 92 104 114 124 133 New Mexico 138 North Dakota 148 Offshore Oklahoma Texas Regi onal Informat i on - contains data on three regional areas; Coastal, Central/Western and Northern Utah Wyoming 157 162 176 191 236 246 VIII. Measurement Collection Protocols 256 * State sum
26、maries contain figures, tables and appendices similar to the total U.$. information and state measurement data is provided for counties, parishes, etc. iv A NATIONAL SURVEY ON NATURALLY OCCURRING RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS (NORM) IN PETROLEUM PRODUCING AND GAS PROCESSING FACILITIES I. Introduction The da
27、ta summarized in this report is a compilation of over 36,000 individual observations submitted by a number of participating petroleum companies using similar equipment and collection protocols (see Section VIII). The purpose of the study was 1) to identify the geographic areas of producing and gas p
28、rocessing facilities (gas plants) which have the greatest occurrence of NORM and 2) to identify items of equipment at these facilities which have the highest NORM activity levels. Results are first reported on a national basis so that the general patterns in background levels and the excess radioact
29、ivity over background for both types of facilities can be seen in geographic perspective. NORM activity levels are reported in this study in micro-rems/hr. In addition to geographic studies at the county, state and national level of aggregation, there are also summaries by item of equipment for each
30、 state and the total U.S. II. Summary of Resul ts Section VI - National Summary contains figures, tables and appendices for the total U.S. This study consists of 36,890 observations collected in twenty states and two offshore areas. The geographical distribution of the survey points is shown in Figu
31、re 1 and includes both oil/gas producing equipment (33,042 readings) and gas processing equipment (3,848 readings). Figures 1A and 18 illustrate survey distribution for gas processing and oil/gas producing equipment respectively. lhe size of the data base is impressive. However, results must be used
32、 with some caution in evaluating state or local environmental conditions for reasons described in Section III. Figure 2 illustrates median background levels and Figures 3 and 4 i 11 ustrate median activity levels over background for gas processing and oil/gas production facilities respectively. The
33、Sth, 25th, 75th and 95th percentile points of the nationallv aaareaated data were used to define five categories for tabulation and mapping of both the background levels and the differences over background. In developing these categories, offshore data was deleted from the background compilation due
34、 to the abnormally low background provided by the marine environment. Likewise, equipment observations which were not above background were deleted from the differences compilation due to the large number of “zero“ values. This is discussed further in Section IV. The median values for background and
35、 differences are shown on the next page for the five categories. These values are reported in the National Sunary and were used to classify equipment, counties and states in the State Sumaries. - 1- Definition Bac kground Differences Cat euory (National L MR/hr MR/hr 1 Lowest 5% 0.00 - 2.33 0.00 - 0
36、.80 2 Next 20% 2.34 - 4.99 0.81 - 1.99 3 Middle 50% 5.00 - 9.00 2.00 - 33.00 4 Next 203: 9.01 - 14.00 33.01 - 245.00 5 Highest 5% over 14.00 over 245.00 NORM activity. levels showed wide variability, both geographically and between items of equipment in the same geographic area. As shown on Figure 2
37、, lower background levels tend to occur offshore and near the coast. The Midwest and Rocky Mountain areas tend to have higher background levels. Background levels are not related to the equipment readings. Several areas of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, for example, had high background levels and very
38、few equipment readings above background. This can be seen by comparing the background levels shown in figure 2 with the difference over background levels in Figures 3 and 4, The geographic areas with the highest equipment readings are the entire gulf coast crescent (Florida panhandle to Brownsvilie,
39、 Texas), the northeast Texas crescent, southeast Illinois and a few counties in southern Kansas. These are shown in Figures 3 and 4 for gas processing and production facilities, respectively. The eastern gulf coast from Mississippi to the Florida panhandle has the highest consistent NORM activity le
40、vels surveyed in the entire United States. Table 1 illustrates NORM activity levels over background for approximately 15 different types of equipment for both gas processing and production facilities. NORM activity levels tend to be higher in specific types of equipment. Gas processing facilities ha
41、ving the highest levels are reflux pumps, propane pumps and tanks., other pumps and product lines. Water handling equipment in the production facilities category exhibits the greatest NORM activity levels. Details on equipment types are provided in the national summary in the report. When located in
42、 the same area, the gas processing equipment noted above tends to have higher activity levels than the water handling equipment in the producing facilities. This can be seen in the state summaries by comparing the median readings for the two types of facilities in the same county. III. The Data The
43、data were supplied by a number of major petroleum companies from readings made on their own equipment under a common protocol using a similar type of scintillation detector. Calibration was done in accordance with the manufacturers specifications by all participants. Thus this data base represents t
44、he most comprehensive and consistent set of NORM data available for vetroleum operations. However, much of the data were collected at sites which were suspected of exhibiting some degree of radioactivity. Hence, the data is not typical of a randomly chosen site and tends to overstate the magnitude o
45、f NORM occurrence. -2- The data were not collected in statistically designed sampling plans and hence there is no scientific basis for extrapolating the results to unsurveyed areas of petroleum product i on/gas processing . The number of observat i ons from gas processing and producing equipment for
46、 a given geographic area may not be proportional to the actual amount of operational equipment in the area, In addition to the lack of proportionality between equipment types, there is dis-proportionality in the representation among counties in the same state and between the states themselves. Many
47、counties with oil and gas operations have no data reported and many others have only a single observation. The entire states of Kentucky and Nebraska have 21 and 30 observations respectively. All of the Nebraska data comes from a single county on its southern border and the Kentucky data is all from
48、 two counties on the western border with Illinois. Readers should consider the sample size which is reported along with the NORM statistics. The reliability of statistical results are also related to the sample sizes collected. In many cases seemingly large NORM readings (relative to other such read
49、ings) for a county or item of equipment in a state may be the result of a single observation or a small group of observations taken at the same location. IV. Additional Considerations Since the survey was not conducted under statistically controlled conditions, interpretation of the results become difficult when the data are aggregated across dis-similar areas with different sample sizes and different potential for NORM activity levels in the equipment. In particular, a large number of low readings from benign areas may “average out“ and thus minimize the influence of a
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