Measurement of {sup 222}Rn flux, {sup 222}Rn emanation, and {sub 226,228}Ra concentration from injection well pipe scale
- Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Lab., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Science and Engineering Associates, Inc., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
{sup 222}Rn flux (Bq s{sup {minus}1}) was measured from the ends of twenty sections of produced water injection tubing (pipe) containing barite scale contaminated with naturally occurring radioactive material. Exposure measurements near the pipes were as high as 77.4 nV kg{sup {minus}1}h{sup {minus}1}. Flux measurements were accomplished by first purging the pipes with dry nitrogen and then collecting the outflow on charcoal columns affixed to the end of the pipe for 66 hours. As determined in this manner, {sup 222}Rn flux from the ends of the pipe ranged from 0.017 to 0.10 Bq s{sup {minus}1}. Following the radon flux measurements, pipe scale was removed and a representative sample was taken for {sup 226}Ra and {sup 228}Ra concentration measurements and determination of {sup 222}Rn emanation fractions. The samples were also analyzed for gross mineral content. Emanation fraction measurements for {sup 222}Rn ranged from 0.020 to 0.063, while {sup 226}Ra concentrations ranged from 15.7 to 102 Bq g{sup {minus}1}. Barite was the predominate mineral in 17 of the 20 scale samples collected. Much of the previous work dealing with radon emanation fraction measurements has involved uranium mill tailings. Compared to mill tailings and natural soils which have emanation fractions that typically range from 0.1 to 0.3, the emanation fractions measured for these NORM scales are substantially lower.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); American Petroleum Inst., Washington, DC (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 659017
- Journal Information:
- Health Physics, Vol. 75, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: Aug 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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