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Jim,
I like the attached figure that Ted Rockwell
provided several years ago. It puts radiation sources in
perspective.
The natural radiation sources (on the right
side) are acceptable. It's the human-made stuff (on the left side)
that is dangerous. :-)
Jerry
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2003 3:56 AM
Subject: Re: [cdn-nucl-l] OIL, GAS EMIT
MORE RADIOACTIVITY THAN NUCLEAR
I've seen radon turn people into skeletons just sitting in
front of their
TV!? :-)
EPA limit for Ra (U and other radionuclides)
in drinking water is 0.04
mSv/yr.
Jim
on 5/19/03 9:37 PM,
Jerry Cuttler at jerrycuttler@rogers.com
wrote:
> Only the human-made radioactivity is dangerous.
>
> Jerry
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From:
Prof.Dr.Klaus.Becker
> To: rad-sci-l@WPI.EDU
> Cc: redaktion@michael-kaiser.com
>
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2003 2:46 PM
> Subject: Fwd: " OIL, GAS EMIT MORE
RADIOACTIVITY THAN NUCLEAR " [FW] (fwd)
>
>
>> Subject:
" OIL, GAS EMIT MORE RADIOACTIVITY THAN NUCLEAR " [FW]
>>>
...............
>>>
>>> NUCLEONICS WEEK -May 15,
2003
>>> NORTH SEA STUDY: OIL, GAS EMIT
>>> MORE
RADIOACTIVITY THAN NUCLEAR
>>>
>>> North Sea oil and
gas operations now contribute more
>>> man-made radioactivity to
North European marine waters
>>> than the nuclear industry,
according to the Marina II study, a
>>> European Commission
(EC)-funded project undertaken by
>>> international experts to
update data on the impact of radioac-
>>> tivity in the region's
seas.
>>> The study found that nuclear industry discharges to
sea
>>> are back at the same level as the early 1950s, and that
natural-
>>> ly occurring radioactive materials (NORM) now
dominate
>>> doses to the European Union (EU) population from
industrial
>>> discharges, both in terms of alpha activity and
overall impact
>>> (collective dose).
>>> Norway is
the largest oil producer in the North Sea and is
>>> estimated to
provide the greatest impact from current dis-
>>> charges. Norway
is closely followed by the U.K., with Den-
>>> mark and the
Netherlands contributing relatively little.
>>> In 2000, according
to the study, radioactive discharges
>>> from the non-nuclear
industries were estimated to contribute
>>> more than 90%of the
European population's total exposure
>>> from discharges into the
marine region covered by the Ospar
>>> (Oslo &Paris)
Convention. Oil and gas operations contribut-
>>> ed 35.3% and
phosphates, 55.4%.
>>> This compared with the contribution to the
collective
>>> dose rate from discharges of 3.8% from British
Nuclear Fuels
>>> plc's (BNFL) Sellafield reprocessing complex,
1.7% from
>>> Cogema's La Hague facilities, 3.3% from weapons
fallout,
>>> 0.2% from Chernobyl fallout, and 0.1% from nuclear
power stations.
>>> However, the overall impact of the discharges
to the EU
>>> population can be gauged from the fact that, even at
the dis-
>>> charges' peak, the collective dose rate was around a
factor of
>>> 20 less than the annual collective dose from natural
radioac-
>>> tivity in the marine environment.
>>> The
Marina II results have been circulating within the
>>> expert
community for some time and have been placed on the
>>> Internet
and issued as a "Radiation Protection 132 Pre-Publi-
>>> cation
Copy," but the official report is not expected to be
>>> published
for another month or so.
>>> NORM is discharged as a result of
phosphate fertilizer
>>> production, although such discharges have
been reduced
>>> since the 1990s, and from the extraction of oil
and gas from
>>> the continental shelf in the North Sea, mainly in
the Norwe-
>>> gian and U.K.sectors.
>>> NORM
accumulates as scale inside pipework and valves
>>> at offshore
oil and gas production platforms. It also gathers as
>>> sludge in
separator tanks and other vessels. It is discharged in
>>>
"produced water " and its radionuclides of radium--226 and
>>>
Ra-228 and Pb-210 (lead) become available in concentrated
>>> form
for consumption by marine biota.
>>> The study was managed by
U.K.-based NNC Ltd.under a
>>> contract with the EC's Directorate
General for Environment
>>> (NW, 22 March '01,11). NNC worked with
experts belonging
>>> to scientific institutions such as the
U.K.'s National Radio-
>>> logical Protection Board,the
Netherlands' Institute for Fishery
>>> Investigation and NRG
nuclear consultancy, Denmark 's
>>> Riso National Laboratory,
France's CEPN, Russia's SPA
>>> Typhoon, and Ireland's University
College in Dublin. The
>>> team collaborated with Greenpeace,
IAEA, the International
>>> Union of Radioecologists, Friends of
the Earth, and the World
>>> Nuclear Association.
>>>
The study's results have been considered by the Ospar
>>> parties
and resulted in a decision to recommend the reporting
>>> of
discharges from the non-nuclear industries.
>>> The Ospar
Convention for the Protection of the Marine
>>> Environment of the
North East Atlantic was established in
>>> 1992. Its target is to
ensure that radioactive discharges to the
>>> marine environment
in the region are reduced to levels "close
>>> to zero" by 2020..
The Marina II data is expected to help
>>> establish a baseline
against which progress in implementing
>>> the strategy can be
evaluated.
>>> Marina II concluded that the overall civilian
nuclear and
>>> other anthropogenic inputs of radioactivity into
the North
>>> East Atlantic decreased by several orders of
magnitude for
>>> alpha-and beta-emitters and for tritium since
the maximum
>>> levels were reached in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Over the
>>> same period, this resulted in reductions in
radionuclide con-
>>> centrations in the marine environment and in
the individual
>>> doses to members of critical groups and in
collective doses to
>>> the public.
>>> Since the
mid-1980s, the main contribution to discharges
>>> of beta
activity into the Ospar region is from nuclear repro-
>>> cessing
while the discharges of alpha-activity have been
>>> dominated by
the phosphate industry and, later, by oil pro-
>>> duction in the
North Sea.
>>> Remobilization of radionuclides from the marine
sedi-
>>> ments is the other major factor in radioactive exposure.
"The
>>> importance of this phenomenon in the Irish Sea results
from
>>> the fact that the discharges from Sellafield have been
reduced
>>> around 100-fold since the 1970s," said one of the
study's
>>> authors, NNC 's Mark Gerchikov.
>>> "Now
these remobilized radionuclides are more important
>>> than those
resulting from any new discharges. In practice, this
>>> means
that reducing current discharges to zero -Ospar poli-
>>> cy -will
not affect concentrations of some important radionu-
>>> clides
such as the plutonium isotopes."
>>> Nuclear industry discharges
are still dominated by repro-
>>> cessing activity. Excluding the
Chernobyl fallout in 1986,
>>> the input of beta activity
(excluding tritium,which has a very
>>> low radiotoxicity) into
the Ospar region decreased by more
>>> than a factor of four from
1986 to 1991. By this date, the
>>> annual discharge had reached
the same level as in the early
>>> 1950s. The reason was the major
reductions in discharges by
>>> reprocessors BNFL and
Cogema.
>>> Over the same period, the discharges of alpha activity
into
>>> the Ospar region from Sellafield and La Hague decreased
by a
>>> factor of three. Inputs of tritium, which decreased after
the
>>> mid-1960s, have increased since the mid-1980s due to
the
>>> increase in reprocessing at La Hague.
>>> The
Marina II study can be accessed at:
>>> ( http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/radprot/execsummary.pdf
).
>>> -Pearl Marshall, London
>>
>>
============================
>
> Klaus Becker, Boothstr. 27,
D-12207 Berlin
> Phone/Fax: 0049-30-772-1284
>
>
>
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