Radiological assessment of petroleum pipe scale from pipe-rattling operations

Health Physics
I S HamiltonJ-M Park

Abstract

Petroleum pipe scale, consisting of concentrated inorganic solids such as barium sulfate, can deposit on the inside of down-hole pipes during the normal course of oil field pumping operations. A portion of this scale has been shown to contain naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM), predominantly compounds of radium. When these pipes are removed from the well, there is a potential for radiation doses to the oil field workers handling the pipes, especially as the pipes are cleaned for reuse. A thorough sampling and measurement protocol was applied under a variety of weather conditions in an outdoor laboratory to obtain an accurate indication of the radiological and aerodynamic characteristics of scale release and dust dispersion during petroleum pipe scale removal from out-of-service pipes with a restored, historically relevant outdoor pipe-cleaning machine. Exposure rate data were also obtained for both the pre-cleaned pipes, and the general area inhabited by workers during the descaling operation. Four radiation exposure pathways were investigated: inhalation of pipe scale dust generated during pipe rattling, incidental ingestion of the pipe scale dust, external exposure from uncleaned pipes, and external exposure fro...Continue Reading

References

Mar 1, 1976·Environmental Science & Technology

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Citations

Jan 10, 2009·Health Physics·Roland R BenkeRonald N McGinnis

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