Naturally occurring radioactive material, or NORM, has always existed in the oil and gas industry. It made its presence known in Canada in the 80s. NORM is naturally occurring – as described; however, it can become concentrated due to industry activities, resulting in increased environmental, health and safety concerns. To mitigate this, specialists in NORM waste management proactively coordinate the safe collection, transportation, storage and disposal of NORM.
“We live in a radioactive world – NORM is everywhere in varying concentrations,” says Andrew Crocker, a senior technical specialist at SECURE. Crocker is a laboratory technician by trade who has worked in NORM waste management for 13 years. He works with NORM because he is fascinated by it and the sciences at large.
NORM has many forms depending on source and industry, Crocker explains. In mining, NORM presents as uranium and thorium. In oil and gas, water-soluble radium and a radioactive form of lead.
The NORM waste management industry assists with identifying, classifying, processing, consolidating and disposing of NORM. Specialists use handheld NORM survey meters to detect radiation (alpha, beta, gamma) emitted by waste.
The biggest challenge with NORM is that it’s invisible; you can’t tell it’s there unless you specifically test for it.
Varying forms of NORM also mean varying degrees of radioactive concentration. Crocker typically deals with low-level concentrated NORM in oil and gas; however, higher concentrations can be encountered. Radiation protection measures are used to manage NORM safely. Industries such as metals recycling have a zero-tolerance policy for NORM.
For example, if one piece of contaminated metal is in a collection bin, the whole bin is not accepted. This ultimately protects the consumer of newly formed metal products.
Notably, you cannot destroy radiation [therein, NORM], only move it from one place to another. It takes a very long time for NORM to decay or disappear, so NORM must be moved or eventually disposed of in a place where it can have the time to ‘disappear’.
For transporting NORM, the process depends on the waste stream. NORM is a co-contaminate in waste streams such as process or injection filters, tank bottoms and scrap metals. Transport overarchingly entails the waste being sealed in a container to protect the transporter and the environment. NORM waste requires disposal at a licenced facility to ensure people and the environment are not harmed.
NORM decontamination must occur prior to sending contaminated metal for recycling. NORM decontamination resembles scraping ice off a windshield; NORM scale builds up on metal like ice on a windshield, and you must mechanically remove it.
When you scrape ice off a windshield, you use an ice scraper. When SECURE removes NORM scale from metals, they use brute force with ultra-high-pressure water.
NORM waste management is federally and provincially regulated, depending on context. NORM waste management facilities are themselves provincially regulated.
Crocker’s goal is to raise awareness and educate customers about the potential for NORM to exist in industry. He recommends customers look for NORM and added that he can assist with either identifying it, or once discovered, managing it and enacting safety training.
“It is a hazard, but when managed properly, it can be dealt with safely,” he says.
SECURE offers extensive NORM management services, including waste collection bins/services, transportation of NORM-impacted equipment, filter bins and waste, storage and licensed disposal and decontamination facilities. SECURE also has dose monitoring, on-site detection, custom NORM safety training, worker exposure assessments and radiological health and safety programs to keep employees safe.
Beyond the immediate, SECURE also offers long-term NORM management through technical and regulatory assistance. This includes NORM management plans, licensing and regulatory documentation, radiation safety officer (RSO) – contract or retainer and work plan development.