NORM flows with oil, gas and water mixture and accumulates as scale, sludge and scrapings on the interior surfaces of the processing equipments and vessels. To determine whether or not a facility has NORM contamination, NORM survey and sampling need to be conducted and measurements must be recorded and the database shall be updated. Before starting work supervisors must look at previous NORM surveys results, refer to NORM maps or look for labels on contaminated equipments. As a rule in PDO any equipment which has been conveying or storing production fluids shall be treated as NORM contaminated until proven otherwise. SP 1170 describes PDO's minimum requirements for managing NORM. Additional guidelines for specific maintenance and service activities such as tank cleaning, sampling, and well workovers, etc are also available and linked to the specification. |
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Health effects due to exposure to NORM above exposure limits following inadequate safety precautions are typically delayed and may take many years before the development of certain forms of cancer. It is important to understand that the potential health effects are strongly dose-related, and while medical surveillance is a standard strategy that is often used, however it is difficult to find medical tests that detect meaningful abnormal changes in a timely fashion, therefore it must be emphasised that source control, exposure monitoring, workers education, safe work practices such as permit to work, refraining from eating, drinking and smoking in workplaces and wearing the correct PPE are the most important strategies for preventing exposures. NORM training is available for all personnel handling or supervising NORM activities. NORM contaminated equipments must be handled, maintained, |
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transported, stored, and disposed in a controlled manner to protect the worker and the environment. All contaminated equipment shall be sent for decontamination prior to any maintenance or repair and all NORM contaminated waste generated during maintenance should be drummed or put into labeled containers. Representative samples should be collected from the waste and analysed for radioactivity. Obsolete NORM-contaminated pipes and equipments should be clearly labelled as “NORM Contaminated Materials” and removed to a designated area, restricted for the general public. The NORM yard in Bahja is PDO’s licensed NORM waste facility. All contaminated equipments and sludge exceeding the PDO limit must be properly sealed, labeled and transported to the NORM waste yard in exclusive use vehicles and stored for decontamination or long term disposal.
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