New approach for waste treatment of naturally radioactive materials accompanying to oil and natural gas production

This study aims to identify the analytical and radiological characterization of sludge and scale TENORM waste samples collected from production of oil and natural gas at various areas in Egypt were carried out using different specific instruments. The sludge TENORM waste from Gabal EL Zeit eastern desert sample was fractionated to 3 different particle sizes (< 1 mm, < 1.6 mm and < 2 mm) as well as bulk < 2.5 mm sample. Sludge TENORM waste (bulk and different sizes) samples were characterized by using FTIR, EDX and XRD. The activity of some radionuclides was determined using HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry. The mean activities of bulk and different sizes for ²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, ²¹⁰Pb, ²²⁸Ra, ²²⁴Ra, ²³⁵U and ⁴⁰K were high level from natural background radiation. Radiation hazard indices were calculated to assessment the risk of these samples on workers and environment. Some of representative radiation indices such as radium equilibrium (Ra_eq), absorbed dose rate (D_abs), annual effective dose rate (D_ann), external and internal hazard index (H_ex) , (H_in), annual gonadal dose equivalent (AGDE), activity utilization index (AUI), excess life time cancer risk factor (ELCR), representative gamma index (I_γ), and alpha index (I_α) were derived and compared with the world average values. The characterization and radiological study of scale TENORM waste produced from oil and natural gas productions in the western desert in Egypt and evaluates their radiological impacts. The mean activity concentration of ²³⁸U, ²²⁶Ra, ²¹⁰Pb, ²²⁸Ra, ²²⁴Ra, ²³⁵U and ⁴⁰K measured in scale TENORM samples is 660±63, 1979±435, 1399±211, 645±104, 794±116, 27.0±2.6 and 556±86 Bq/kg, respectively. All the calculated hazard parameters were found greater than the permissible and recommended safe levels. So the exposure to radiations released from the accumulation of the petroleum scale TENORM waste may cause health risks to the operators and who inhale radioactive radon gases and/or ingest contaminants by radio toxic nuclides of U, Th, Ra, and Pb. Also, the risks may be extended to the near and/or the general environment