[3] Oil and gas TENORM and/or NORM is created in the production process, when produced fluids from reservoirs carry sulfates up to the surface of the Earth's crust.
As the fluids approach the surface, changes in the temperature and pressure cause the barium, calcium, strontium and radium sulfates to precipitate out of solution and form scale on the inside, or on occasion, the outside of the tubulars and/or casing.
Enhanced concentrations of the radium 226 and 228 and the daughter products such as lead-210 may also occur in sludge that accumulates in oilfield pits, tanks and lagoons.
Radon decay elements occur as a shiny film on the inner surface of inlet lines, treating units, pumps and valves associated with propylene, ethane and propane processing systems.
[4] Cutting and reaming oilfield pipe, removing solids from tanks and pits, and refurbishing gas processing equipment may expose employees to particles containing increased levels of alpha emitting radionuclides that could pose health risks if inhaled or ingested.
Respirators may be necessary in dry processes, where NORM scales and dust become air borne and have a significant chance to enter the body.
Therefore, from a liability standpoint an employee that has not had respiratory protection over several years could develop bone or other cancers from NORM exposure and decide to seek compensation such as medical expenses and lost wages from the oil company which generated the TENORM and the employer.
Alpha particles travel short distances in air, of only 2–3 cm, and cannot penetrate through a dead layer of skin on the human body.
The half-life for radium 226 is approximately 1,620 years, and will remain in the body for the lifetime of the human — a significant length of time to cause damage.
These measurements, ALI and DAC, are calculated values based on the dose an average employee working 2,000 hours a year may be exposed to.
A rem, or roentgen equivalent man, is a measurement of absorption of radiation on parts of the body over an extended period of time.