Measurement of TE-NORM Concentrations and Resulting Dose ‎Assessment in Produced Water at Some Oil and Gas Sites..

Abstract

Huge amounts of produced water that are TE-NORM-contaminated during the processes of extracting crude oil from oil&gas production fields with concentrations higher than the radiological reference levels provided by international organizations may expose the workers at these sites to potential radiation hazards. Therefore, assessing the worker doses at these sites have a great importance. This assessment is essential in determining the radiation hazards brought on by radiation exposure. The purpose of this study is to determine the activity concentration of TE-NORM contaminated produced water in different Egyptian oil&gas extraction sites, as well as using the estimated annual doses and radiation hazard indices to assess the radiation risks indices for the workers. The obtained data shows that the activity concentration of 238 U, 232 Th, and 40 K ranged from 4032 to 14567 Bq Kg -1 , 1185 to 6358 Bq Kg -1 and 184 to 423 Bq Kg -1 respectively. The calculated absorbed dose rate ranged from 2588 – 10587 nGy/h, and the calculated Annual Effective Dose Equivalent differ according to the TE-NORM activity concentrations and have the range of 3.17 to 12.99 mSv/y. it was found that the radiation hazard indices significantly more than the international values. Based on the obtained results, it could be concluded that discharging the contaminated produced water into the environment should be prohibited and using the recommended disposal methods to reduce as much as possible the exposure of radiation worker in oil & gas production fields.