Radiological health implications of lead-210 and polonium-210 accumulations in LPG refineries

Journal Article · Mon Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1985 · Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/15298668591394662· OSTI ID:5524169

Summerlin, J Jr; Prichard, H M

Radon-222, a naturally occurring radioactive noble gas, is often a contaminant in natural gas. During fractionation at processing plants, Radon tends to be concentrated in the Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) product stream. Radon-222 decays into a number of radioactive metallic daughters which can plate out on the interior surfaces of plant machinery. The hazards associated with gamma-emitting short-lived radon daughters have been investigated previously. The present work reports an analysis of the hazards associated with the long-lived daughters; Pb-210, Bi-210, and Po-210. These nuclides do not emit appreciable penetrating radiation, and hence do not represent a hazard as long as they remain on the inside surfaces of equipment. However, when equipment that has had prolonged exposure to an LPG stream is disassembled for repair or routine maintenance, opportunities for exposure to radioactive materials can occur. A series of measurements made on an impeller taken from a pump in an LPG facility is reported. Alpha spectroscopy revealed the presence of Po-210, and further measurements showed that the amount on the impeller surface was well above the exempt quantity. Breathing zone measurements made in the course of cleaning the impeller showed that an inhalation exposure equivalent to breathing Po-210 at the Maximum Permissible Concentration (MPC) for 60 hours could be delivered in less than half an hour. It was concluded that maintenance and repair work on LPG and derivitive product stream equipment must be carried out with the realization that a potential radiological health problem exists.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Texas School of Public Health, Houston
• OSTI ID: 5524169
• Journal Information: Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J.; (United States), Journal Name: Am. Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J.; (United States) Vol. 46:4; ISSN AIHAA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
030500 -- Natural Gas-- Health & Safety
500300* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
560151 -- Radiation Effects on Animals-- Man
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BISMUTH 210
BISMUTH ISOTOPES
DAUGHTER PRODUCTS
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DISTILLATION EQUIPMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE PATHWAY
EQUIPMENT
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
HEAVY NUCLEI
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
ISOTOPES
LEAD 210
LEAD ISOTOPES
MAINTENANCE
MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE EXPOSURE
MONITORING
NUCLEI
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
PETROLEUM REFINERIES
POLONIUM 210
POLONIUM ISOTOPES
RADIATION HAZARDS
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIOISOTOPES
RADON 222
RADON ISOTOPES
SAFETY STANDARDS
STANDARDS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES