Workers Exposure to Natural Occurrence Radioactive Materials (NORM) in Gas Production

Introduction
The radon is a noble radioactive gas, tasteless and odourless, of natural occurrence in the environment. Since the radon is a noble gas, it does not react or it is not linked to any other element or material in the soil and can move to the underground water or the air following the gas production flow, accumulating due to its long life Ra226, Ra 228, together with its derivates Rn222 Pb 210 in entry filters, bombs and other processing equipments. In 1986, the presence of NORM was determined in pipes removed from a well in Mississippi. Since then, operators have monitored their installations and NORM was found in some locations

Methods
Measurement of NORM concentration levels was carried out in different operation points of transport, processing/ separation and storage of Industrial facility Cerri of TGS to evaluate the presence of radon and its derivates 222Rn y 210Pb.

Results
Those equipments showing a dose rate equal to or higher than 0.50 µSv/h. are usually classified as NORM. The monitoring found significant concentrations of NORM in a small percentage of TGS facilities.

Discussion
There is neither legislation in the Argentine Republic nor experience in the occupational health area for the management of exposure of gas industry workers to NORM. We must inform and deepen our information to inform, in these types of industries, regarding the existence of this risk which is not generally considered. We conclude that the awareness of the risk of NORM exposure, the systematic measurement of its levels, the operators training, the implementation of improvements in the exposure times and interventions in the distance/ isolation of the sources and the correct use of personal protection elements (PPE) is the key to prevent the occurrence of occupational diseases as a consequence of radiation exposure of the exposed workers.