ISSUE 42

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Latest HSE Statistics YTD
  2015 2016
Workplace fatalities
0 0
Non-work related fatalities
0 0
Non-accidental deaths (NADs)
0 0
Lost Time Injuries (LTIs)
0 0
All injuries (excluding first aid cases)
0 0
Motor Vehicle Incidents (MVIs)
0 0
Roll over - MVIs
0 0
Serious MVIs
0 0
Lost Time Injury Frequency (LTIF)
0 0
Life Saving Rules Violations
YTD
Journey management
0
Speeding/GSM
0
Seatbelts
0
Overriding safety device
0
Working at heights
0
Permit
0
Confined space
0
Lock out tag out
0
Drugs and alcohol
0
Gas testing
0
Smoking
0
Suspended Load
0
Vehicle Class A/B Defect
YTD
Class A
0
Class B
0
HSE TIP
The consequences of failing to comply with safe NORM procedures may place you or others at risk.  For any further support, contact the
 

Important News


   
 

NORM stands for Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials. NORM is all around us as background radiation, all of the time. It is part of the earth’s crust and found in very low concentrations in rocks, soil and water.  Background radiation emitted from NORM is small and mainly harmless, however, processes such as oil and gas production can cause NORM or TENORM (Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials) to build up to levels, that may be harmful to worker’s health or the environment.

   

Oil and gas producing companies are unwillingly co-producing Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) with it day to day activities giving rise to NORM contaminated waste. These naturally occurring radioactive materials decay, emitting gamma photons and alpha and beta radiationparticles which are potentially harmful to health if inhaled or ingested.  NORM not only present a potential health risk to staff maintaining and servicing production equipment or handling waste streams, but may also result in an environmental issues.

 

What You Need to Know

 
 
NORM Risk exposure:

The major health risk is from the inhalation or ingestion of scales or debris contaminated with NORM, particularly during pipes cutting, removing solids from oil tanks and pits and refurbishing gas processing equipment. The risk is almost negligible when NORM scales are inside the tubular and the tubular remain down hole.

 

Monitoring:

Always use calibrated NORM detectors. Any measurement in which the dose rate exceeds 0.5 μSv/hr is considered NORM contaminated. Update your NORM database following to any monitoring
 

Disposal of Equipments:

All NORM contaminated equipment shall be transported to Bahja NORM yard for proper management and decontamination.
 

 
ISSUE 42

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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.

 

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, 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.