Radiation control at oil and gas industry enterprises

   The paper presents some methodological approaches to the organization of radiation survey and radiation control at oil and gas industry enterprises in order to ensure the radiation safety of workers exposed to natural sources of ionizing radiation.

   Summary. The paper highlights the issue of the lack of guidelines defining the procedure for organizing and conducting radiation survey and radiation control at enterprises in non-nuclear industries where exposure of workers to natural sources of ionizing radiation in industrial conditions is possible. The analysis of radiation sources affecting workers during the extraction, transportation and processing of oil and gas has shown that the main reason for increased levels of exposure in this industry is the generation of industrial waste with elevated concentration of natural radionuclides. It is noted that the mechanisms of waste generation in the oil industry and the gas industry are of a different nature. Based on practical experience, an approach to setting action levels in terms of removable radioactive alpha and beta contamination of technological equipment, ensuring that the established dose limit of 5 mSv/year is not exceeded given single-factor exposure situation, have been proposed for the first time. Several types of measurements are recommended to assess the doses of exposure to workers in the oil industry (gamma dose rate in the workplaces, radon concentration during certain types of operations, activity concentration of natural radionuclides in dust in the presence of dusting processes) and the gas industry (level of removable radioactive contamination with alpha and beta emitting natural radionuclides of the dismantled equipment, gross beta activity concentration in the air of the working area during equipment cleaning from accumulated sediment).

   Conclusion. The recommendations presented in the paper will be taken into account when developing guidelines for the organization and conduct of radiation survey and radiation control at enterprises in non-nuclear industries where workers are exposed to natural sources of ionizing radiation in industrial conditions. The applying of the guidelines in practice should become the practical basis for implementation of the requirements for ensuring the radiation safety of workers in the oil and gas industry of the Russian Federation.

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