A Systematic Review of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) in Energy Production Sectors: Exposure, Effective Doses and Regulatory Challenges
Résumé
The oil and gas industry, coal mining and coal-fired power plants as well as geothermal energy plants have been investigated in the past with respect to the different aspects of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM). However, existing assessments are usually too specific and inconclusive, due to different perspectives, and a systematic overview of NORM issues for these energy sectors is still missing.
The European data, collected in the international RadoNorm project and presented in this paper, made it possible to find a common denominator for the primordial source of radiation risk in these industrial sectors. Depending on the technological processes, radionuclides of natural origin (e.g., 226,228 Ra, 222 Rn, 210 Pb, 210 Po) were found in a range of materials, such as scales, sludge, production water, liquid and gaseous discharges. Both radionuclides and materials may further have different fates, leading to radiation exposure doses in various exposure scenarios for workers, the public, and the environment.
The important novelty of this paper is related to the comparative qualitative and quantitative assessment of radiation protection aspects for a whole sequence of given energy-generating processes, which includes the sourcing of raw material, NORM-generating processes, their fate and potential risks towards humans and the environment, as well a comparison of management, regulatory control, and existing challenges. The provided overview will help in the future 2 international harmonization of decision-making processes during industrial activities, decommissioning activities or at legacy sites, which are often reported in the context of such energy-generation sectors. Moreover, this information will especially help countries worldwide that may still be in the initial phase of NORM inventory characterization and/or legislation development.
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