Naturally Occuring Radioactive Materials (NORMs)
WSC can offer you solutions to your NORM responsibilities and minimise your commercial risk
Westlakes Scientific Consulting has more than ten years of expertise in modelling the dispersion of radionuclides (both naturally occurring and anthropogenic) in the environment, and assessing the dose to exposure groups and species. We employ a broad range of modelling techniques and applied experience on the impact and fate of contaminants in the environment, and maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current environmental legislation and rigorous scientific interpretation of model results to place them in their correct context.
NORMs: Background
Human activity, principally in the mining and processing of ores and the production of gas and oil, has the potential to either enhance concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides in the environment or increase the potential for exposure to said nuclides.
NORM residues are receiving increasing amounts of attention due to the presence of large amounts of such materials. There is the potential for long-term hazards (NORM being comprised principally of long-lived radionuclides with relatively high radiotoxicities), a higher likelihood of public exposure to NORMs as opposed to most other sources of radiation, and the acceleration of decommissioning of extraction and mining facilities under developing environmental legislation.
Two prime examples of NORM sources are the presence of enhanced levels of activity in mine tailings and associated mine waters, leading to the development of contaminated water plumes, and the occurrence of soluble components such as barium and the radioactive intermediates of the uranium and thorium decay series in produced waters from oil and gas fields. In the latter case this can lead to the co-precipitation of these substances in separators, valves, tanks and pipework, forming scales, sludges, films and crystalline deposits.
The most common nuclide of concern is Ra-226, which has potentially severe consequences if ingested or inhaled (for example during cutting of pipes containing scale). In addition NORMs are commonly found in conjunction with elevated concentrations of other elements considered toxic or hazardous: all require consideration when examining the potential effects on both human health and impact to the environment.
Our Clients
Our Clients include:
• Sellafield Limited
• UKAEA
• Westinghouse
• Shell
• Corex (UK) Ltd
• Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA)
• UK Government / Defra / Environment Agency
• ICRP
NORMs: Our Capabilities
• Our modelling expertise can assist clients from various industry sectors to successfully demonstrate the impact of their releases to the satisfaction of UK regulators. Applications range from the modelling of relatively small model areas through to long-term and long-range dispersion over much larger model domains. Routine assessments include the modelling of dissolved and particulate releases, particle tracking, slick analysis, suspended and bed sediment transport.
• WSC has experience in the use of models suitable for the analysis of radiological (including NORMs) and chemotoxic contaminants, including RESRAD-OFFSITE, MIKE21, PC CREAM, POSEIDON, MEAD, VERSE, MODFLOW, FEFLOW, ADMS, AERMOD and EAS. These models can calculate the dose to onsite and offsite receptors from exposure to radioactive material, including human dose assessment from food ingestion, inhalation and external exposure, in addition to short- and long-term dispersion of radionuclides in the air, groundwater and the marine environment.
• WSC staff are members of the IAEA EMRAS NORM working group, which is reviewing the performance of those models currently available to predict the distribution and radiological impact of NORM. While most models can calculate/predict concentrations and/or doses, there is no “standard” approach. As such the NORM working group aims to produce recommendations to resolve these outstanding issues.
• WSC has in-house laboratory facilities including high purity germanium gamma ray detectors (essential in accurately measuring levels of activity that may be only slightly above the natural background), radiochemical separation, particle sizing capabilities and can also carry out field measurements, including radon using RAD-7 detectors.
Westlakes Scientific Consulting: About Us
Westlakes Scientific Consulting (WSC) is a contract research company under full ownership of the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). Our close association with UCLan allows staff to maintain their personal expertise at the cutting edge of their fields, whilst our commercial nature ensures that our staff have a wide range of business and project management skills appropriate to our clients needs.
We are familiar with the needs of a broad range of industries, including nuclear, oil and gas and mining, and can tailor our services to meet specific customer requirements.