Experience with risk-based residual soil concentration limits for oil and gas NORM

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:377213

Rogers, V; Bernhardt, D ^[1]

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1. Rogers & Associates Engineering Corporation, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)

The allowable residual concentration of radium in the soils is one of the important parameters in remediating sites contaminated with naturally-occurring radioactive materials (NORM). While generally applicable standards of residual radium concentrations in NORM have promulgated in a few states, several options of risk-based soil radium cleanup criteria have been developed for specific projects. The cleanup criteria for unrestricted release are generally consistent with residual concentrations contained in state regulation, i.e., 5 to 30 pCi/g. However, the radium concentration limits for various options for conditional release or use of the sites are much higher. Unrestricted use conditions include a reclaimer that builds a dwelling on site and then lives in it, uses water from an onsite well, and grows a garden for some of his food. For oil and gas NORM in this scenario, indoor radon and external gamma radiation pathways are most restricted. The stipulations of conditional release or restricted use can significantly reduce the potential impact from disposed NORM, so that residual radon concentrations can increase up to a few hundred pCi/g.

• Research Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); Amoco Production Co., Houston, TX (United States); Conoco, Inc., Stamford, CT (United States)
• OSTI ID: 377213
• Report Number(s): CONF-9509296--; ON: DE96001221
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CONTAMINATION
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE PATHWAY
GAMMA RADIATION
LAND USE
NATURAL RADIOACTIVITY
OIL FIELDS
PETROLEUM
RADIATION DOSES
RADIOECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
RADIUM
RADON
REMEDIAL ACTION
SOILS