[ RadSafe ] Apparently large amount of Radon in Natural Gas Release near Los Angeles

[jjshonka at shonka.com]

Joe


I may stand corrected, but I think that any radon in the natural gas from the wellhead when produced decays when shipped and stored.  The fact that measurable radon is present seems to indicate that the storage is not lined in any way, and the natural gas is in contact with the surrounding earth.  I think the storage reservoir has lost its integrity and the natural gas, along with radon, is seeping from the ground.  This is why there is no easy, fast solution.  As you noted, a simple pipe leak would be easily sealed.  When you build a basement, radon levels are higher than in outside air.  If you have an underground cavity, sealed well enough to store natural gas under pressure, all of the radon emanating from the earth surrounding the natural gas will reach some equilibrium in the natural gas.  That is my guess as to what they are seeing.  


Joe






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From: Joseph Preisig
Sent: ‎Tuesday‎, ‎January‎ ‎12‎, ‎2016 ‎1‎:‎22‎ ‎PM
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List





Radsafe/Joe Shonka,
      Don't know what a storage well is.  Stored natural gas???  The gas is
coming out of the well at an appreciable
rate and has been going on for quite some time...It is some kind of
gusher???  While I am more concerned for people,
animals, livestock in the area, the company in this well-debacle is going
to take a major economic bath.  Not to mention
lawsuits down the line. Ugh....
     Loss of life could come, not from explosions, but from severe amounts
of things other than methane, in with the methane,
in the possible confined space of a little valley in California.  UGH Again.

     Hope you are very well, Joe.

     Joe Preisig



On Tue, Jan 12, 2016 at 12:40 PM, <jjshonka at shonka.com> wrote:

> Brad
>
>
> The concentration of radon in the gas depends on the source, which would
> be the surrounding soil matrix given the short half life of radon.
> Interstitial soil concentrations are 100’s to 1,000’s of times that seen in
> air.  The concentration in the methane might be 100’s of pCi/L.  Of course,
> the concentration in air would depend on release rate and dilution in
> transit to the location.
>
>
> Joe Shonka
>