Human beings are always exposed to background radiation that comes both from natural and man-made sources[1]. Natural radioactivity is widespread in the earth environment and it exists in various geological formations such as earth’s crust, rocks, soils, plants, water and air. Mining has been identified as one of the potential sources of exposure to naturally occurring radioactive materials...
Oil and gas drilling and processing operations have potential to unearth the naturally occurring radionuclides and subsequently accumulate them in the processing equipment. Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) carried out a detailed study at Eleven (11) oil and gas fields with the objective to evaluate the concentration of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM). Initial...
Potassium compounds are used in various industries, such as raw materials in the production of chemical products or as catalysts. A radioactive isotope of potassium, K-40, has a natural abundance of 0.012% in potassium, and a high-purity potassium compound may have radioactive concentration of K-40 exceeding 10 Bq/g. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the exposure level of workers handling...
COMPARISON OF REGULATORY AND OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE PROVISIONS FOR NATURALLY OCCURRING RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS (NORM) IN ZIMBABWE TO THE SAFETY STANDARDS.
Authors
A. Muzongomerwa
Radiation Protection Authority of Zimbabwe.1 McCaw Drive. Avondale West. Harare
Email: amuzongomerwa@rpaz.co.zw
The Radiation Protection (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials) Regulations, 2013, is the sole...
P.A. Sarfo1, D.O. Kpeglo1, O. Adukpo 1, M Abubakar1, F. Otoo1, B. Agyeman1.
1Radiation Protection Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission. P. O. Box, LG 80, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
*Corresponding author contact: nyarkopatience5@yahoo.com.
ABSTRACT
Occupational radiation protection was assessed at the Tarkwa Gold mines in the Western Region of Ghana by measuring the radioactivity levels...
State office for Nuclear Safety (SONS) has been dealing with the issue of radon in schools for a long time. Many measurements have been made under the Radon Programme, and schools have been regularly encouraged to measure and, where necessary, implement protective measures - which may not be costly in nature but can still be very effective. These measurements were voluntary with a concern for...
Measurements of natural radioactivity in local and imported samples of commercial granites used in Tunisia were carried out by using gamma-ray spectroscopy with hyper-pure germanium detector. The activity concentrations measured of granite samples were determined for 226Ra (from 0.54 to 90.12 Bq.kg−1), 232Th (from 0.47 to 128.36 Bq.kg−1) and 40K (from 14.36 to 1792.08 Bq.kg−1).
The...
Radon is a radioactive gas that emanates from rocks and soils and tends to be concentrated in closed spaces such as underground mines, underground parking and dwellings. Infiltration of soil gases is recognized as the most important source of residential radon.
Radon is one of the main contributors to the dose of ionizing radiation received by the general population, hence the need to...
ABSTRACT
In Gabon, the experience of the regulatory authority regarding radiological safety of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) is relatively new. In the oil and gas industry the NORM encountered include scales and sludge formed in the inner surface of production equipment and pipelines. Contaminated soil with NORM as a result of uncontrolled disposal of production water may...
Malawi has had coal mines since the 1980s. There are both open and underground coal mines in the Northern Part of Malawi. Most mines are operated by small and medium entrepreneurs who have limited capital to invest in comprehensive operational and safety systems. This poses a challenge to the safety of mine workers especially in underground mines.
The Atomic Energy Act No. 16 of 2011 requires...
The oil and gas exploration industry was well known to indirectly generate Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) waste products known as oil sludge and scale. Oil sludge and scale formed during the borehole logging process in the process to obtain crude oil from the reservoir rock. In this process, various impurities were sucked out which eventually precipitation and deposition were...
Occupational Radiation Protection in the Workplaces Involving Exposure to Naturally Occurring Radioactive material, Radon and Cosmic Rays
Ebong, Mfon Charles, Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Email: mfonmfon4ever@yahoo.com Phone: +2348035634832
Human exposures to ionizing radiation in daily life come from both natural sources - such as naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM)...
The main tasks of the German National Radiation Dose Register (SSR), which is a facility of the Federal Office of Radiation Protection (BfS), is the collection and surveillance of occupational radiation doses from workers which are occupationally exposed to ionising radiation. Furthermore, the SSR regularly performs statistical analyses of the collected data in order to explore the state of...
Radioactivity levels and the assessment of the associated health hazards at Um Bogma Area, Sinai, Egypt
W. M. Abdellah , S.U.El-Khameesy, A. A. Alshamy, H.M.Diab, , N. M. Ali
Abstract
As a part of the national survey to evaluate some strategic elements such as U, Mn, Fe, Ca and Zn, we have undertaken a quantitative study to fulfill this target. The concentration of some these elements...
Background
Unregulated artisanal mining of columbite–tantalite (coltan) which is widespread in Eastern Africa is growing rapidly due to increased demand for tantalum, a rare refractory metal that is highly resistant to corrosion and a good conductor of heat and electricity.Such mining works that involve naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) are however sources of radiation...
The objective of this work was to carry out a radiological characterization of a calcarenite deposit used in the production of sand as a construction material. The deposit is divided into two sectors (east and west) and is generally made up of calcareous sandstone sequences. The mining works in the quarry consist of the removal, transfer and storage of the material. For the radiological...
Nicaragua is a tropical country so the climate is warm, which forces residential houses to be ventilated. This makes Radon gas emphasize in the workplace, especially in closed places and that are underground. One of the places that meet these conditions are gold mine tunnels In Nicaragua, gold is one of the country's natural resources and it is exported generating foreign exchange. There are...
Exposure due to radon might occur in all types of workplaces and facilities, ranging from conventional offices, naturally occurring radioactive material processing industries, underground facilities, and nuclear fuel cycle facilities. This is to present the view of consideration of the International Atomic Energy Authority(IAEA) and The International Labour Office (ILO) recommendations for...
With much economic development around the world, the commercial air transport business is expanding for international trade and travel. Accordingly, the flight time at high altitudes of commercial aircrew is increasing, and the exposure dose of cosmic radiation tends to increase. In recent UNSCEAR and national survey reports, the average exposure dose of cosmic radiation of flight crews is...
Abstract
This study involves the assessment of seasonal exposure dose and health risks of indoor radon in public hospitals of Iraqi Kurdistan using CR-39 nuclear track detectors (NTDs) for all seasons of the year. The results showed that indoor radon depends on the geological formation, type of building material, and ventilation rate. The highest and lowest values of rate indoor radon...
Gold mining economically empowers not only the miners but also the entire country. However, it involves massive discharge of wastes like tailings, gangues etc. containing radionuclides that maybe harmful to the miners and the populace. It was therefore necessary to determine spatial distribution and exposure to NORM in the artisanal gold mines in the Migori Transamara gold mining complex of...
