RE: contamination by spraying -Reply

[Michael S Ford <MFORD@pantex.com>]

Gert,

With my limited oil production experience (grandfather and great
uncle were in the oil exploration business), I seem to remember that
there are (or were) production water losses during the drilling and
recovery processes -- especially on the platform and various other
locations.

How is the production water handled in those areas?  Is it viewed as
a personnel hazard?

It is interesting to hear the concern over the possible production
water hazards with the myriad other life-threatening hazards that
exist on an oil platform -- especially ocean-borne.  I understand your
predicament, however, and you can't tell your co-workers it's no
problem without having some data to stand on.

It looks as though Ra-226 and Pb-210 would be the worst-case dose
contributors from the concentrations you cite.  You might use the
worst case concentrations, estimate the volume of production water
that the workers were sprayed with and estimate an ingestion dose
and skin dose from the source terms you generate.

If you could get a sample of the production water and perform
gamma spec on it, that would take a lot of guessing out of the
exercise.

If you can get your coworkers to see that the rad hazards pale in
comparison to the industrial hazards you will have won the battle --
no matter how you go about it.

Good Luck!
v/r
Michael
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Michael S. Ford, CHP
Texas Radiation Advisory Board
Address:
Radiation Safety Department
Battelle Pantex
Amarillo, TX
806.477.5727 phone
806.477.4198 fax
mford@pantex.com
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