Clean Up Method for Cold War Sites May Save Costs for Oil, Gas Industry

Mt. Pleasant, MI - Software and data collection techniques originally developed by the U.S. Department of Energy to clean up Cold War defense sites could help save the nation's oil and gas producers millions of dollars in cleaning up soils contaminated with naturally occurring radioactive material.

Naturally occurring radioactive material, or "NORM," is produced when oil and natural gas from underground reservoirs carry small quantities of radium to the surface. Over time, the radium -- typically radium-226 and to a lesser extent, radium-228 -- can concentrate in pipe scale and oil sludge. These scales and sludges can contaminate soils and equipment.

	Handheld detectors and a global positioning system are used to detect NORM.

Now, an Energy Department demonstration at a Michigan petroleum pipe yard has shown that a new onsite sampling and testing technique combined with advanced decision support software can dramatically cut data collection costs, reduce the amount of soil that must be excavated, and shorten the time required to bring NORM-contaminated sites into environmental compliance.

At Lease Management, Inc. in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, the department demonstrated an on-site soil sampling and testing method called the Adaptive Sampling and Analysis Program (ASAP). Developed by the department's Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, ASAP was originally intended to provide a faster, cheaper way to clean up the Energy Department's nuclear weapons component manufacturing sites.

To demonstrate ASAP's applicability to petroleum operations, Argonne scientists chose a 300-foot by 500-foot site in Michigan where pipe salvaged from nearby oil and gas production sites was stacked prior to being cleaned and reconditioned. NORM-contaminated scale on the outside of the pipes had fallen off during handling and because of exposure to the elements. As a result, soils across the pipe yard had varying levels of NORM concentrations.

To locate the contaminated areas, scientists equipped with backpack global positioning systems and hand-held gamma ray detection devices first conducted a walkover survey of the pipe yard. This gave initial indications of where possible NORM contamination warranted further examination.

The scientists then used a commercial technology called the RadInSoilTM meter to pinpoint radium-226 concentrations more precisely. The briefcase-size RadInSoilTM meter was originally designed by the Energy Department to identify radium-226 in uranium mill tailings.

To confirm the presence of radium-226 and to detect the other form of radium -- radium-228 -- the scientists used a tripod-mounted, camera-like device called a High Purity Germanium gamma spectroscopy system.

The Argonne scientists then used a unique computer program and software approach they developed to calculate a statistical relationship between the direct measurements and the walkover data and display a map of areas where soil concentrations of NORM exceeded regulatory standards.

A tripod-mounted gamma spectroscopy system is used to confirm the presence of radium.

The onsite, realtime detection devices offered significant cost and time savings compared to the standard industry practice of shipping soil samples to offsite laboratories for analyses.

Traditional off-site gamma spectrometry costs approximately $200 per sample. In contrast, the on site gamma spectrometry costs less than $100 per sample, the RadInSoilTM measurements were $10 per reading, and the gamma walkover data cost approximately 10 cents per reading. Conservatively, soil characterization costs using the ASAP approach are estimated to be 10 percent of the costs that would have been incurred using a more traditional approach.

In this demonstration, the gamma walkover survey identified more than 100 separate locations across the site with naturally occurring radioactive materials above background levels, representing 370 cubic yards of soil. Using ASAP data reduction techniques, only five of these sites were determined to have contamination exceeding state guidelines. Selective excavation of only nine cubic yards in these five areas brought the site into compliance with state requirements.

The demonstration dramatically shortened the overall characterization and cleanup schedules from several weeks to four days. Results from the RadInSoilTM meter compared very well to standard laboratory analyses on duplicate soil samples. With the use of reliable on-site measurement capabilities, results were immediately available, allowing excavation decisions to be made instantly. In addition, the soil removal was much more precise using the on-site measuring techniques than the results obtained through a more traditional data collection at this same site in 1991.

NORM disposal costs vary greatly depending upon a number of factors such as how and where the wastes are disposed of, the volume of waste being disposed of, the average radium concentration, and the distance to the disposal site. In the Michigan demonstration, the ASAP techniques are expected to save the site owner $36,000 or more in disposal costs.

Results of the demonstration are now available in a final report, The Application of Adaptive Sampling and Analysis Program Techniques to NORM Sites. A paper copy of the report documenting the results of the ASAP demonstration project can be obtained from the DOE National Petroleum Technology Office by contacting Herb Tiedemann at 918-699-2017, email: htiedema@npto.doe.gov.

The Department also plans to communicate the results of this demonstration through workshops and training activities.

-- End of TechLine --

For more information, contact:
Hattie Wolfe, DOE Office of Fossil Energy, 202-586-6503, email: hattie.wolfe@hq.doe.gov

Technical contacts:
John Ford, DOE National Petroleum Technology Office, 918-699-2061, email:jford@npto.doe.gov
Bob Johnson, Argonne National Laboratory, 630-252-7004, email: rljohnson@anl.gov
Karen P. Smith, Argonne National Laboratory, 303-986-1140 (ext. 267), email: smithk@anl.gov