NORM guide for the TDE man in the field From: DSV, MB Rig 22 (TDE/1412) To: DSV Rig 1, 3, 19, 65, 66, 21, and 22 Cc: TDE, TDE/D, TDE/95, TDE/95D, TDE/95HSE, PLS/1, HSE, OSA, Senior RPS (Omar), OTS/25 (NDF), TDE/11, TDE/12, TDE/121, TDE/13, TDE/131, TDE/14, TDE/141, TDE/S (File). Subject: Norm Guide for the TDE man in the field – Revision 0.0 ODE Ref: TDE/2001/ Date: 22 September 2001 The following Norm guide is meant to be a supplementary (TDE specific) guide in addition to the existing NORM manual. It is meant to be a complete guide on how to deal with Norm whenever a well re-entry is made. It does not replace or supersede the NORM manual. In case of special circumstances an amendment will be written if needed. An electronic version of this document, including all the attachments, can be found on the departmental network drive J:-Drive\OM_all\TDE_all\Full Access\TDE HSE\TDE NORM Guidelines TDE/1412 TDE/141 TDE/14 (Author) TDE TDE/D /home/website/convert/temp/convert_html/563dbbaf550346aa9aaf5a4a/ document.doc
Subject: Norm Guide for the TDE man in the field – Revision 0.0
ODE Ref: TDE/2001/
Date: 22 September 2001
The following Norm guide is meant to be a supplementary (TDE specific) guide in addition to the existing NORM manual. It is meant to be a complete guide on how to deal with Norm whenever a well re-entry is made. It does not replace or supersede the NORM manual.
In case of special circumstances an amendment will be written if needed.
An electronic version of this document, including all the attachments, can be found on the departmental network drive J:-Drive\OM_all\TDE_all\Full Access\TDE HSE\TDE NORM Guidelines
NORM guide for the TDE man in the field – (TDE Rig Personnel’s procedure for handling and shipping material with NORM contamination).
This procedure is intended to be a ‘field guide’ for the TDE department on how to handle and ship material which has NORM. Reference is made to AFPC NORM manual (Document No: 1.HSE.8.000) and to course material from the NORM course in OMAR (Attachment 6).
The procedure outlines the steps taken from the point that NORM is detected up until the material which has NORM has arrived at the NORM plant (also called NDF, Norm Decontamination Facility, Decontamination plant).
Note 1: Pulling NORM contaminated tubing is regarded as a non-routine operation (see NORM manual 1.HSE.8002, page 4).
Note 2: MBDO is providing the NORM PPE and the measuring instruments under the workover contracts, while AFPC is providing material to wrap externally contaminated tubing (plastic sheets). For rigs which do not have NORM PPE included in the rig contract, see attachment 10 for list of AFPC equipment available along with Mesc numbers.
Note 3: Alpha and Beta readings for wet and dry conditions may be different. For example, a joint of tubing may measure 20cps Beta when pulled out of hole (ie wet condition), while after a couple of days (pipe is now dry), the Beta may read 40cps and there may also be some alpha. This is why we always double check the non-NORM items prior to back loading. Wet and dry Gamma readings are usually the same.
Note 4: Before starting work on a well, the location, xmas tree, cellar and location isolation valve/flowline shall be surveyed for NORM. This is done by the respective CPF’s RPS. The handover certificate from the Senior Production Supervisor (OPX/x) shall always be accompanied by this Norm survey. The rig personnel should always make an independent check as standard practice.
Note 5: There may be NORM contaminated items lying around the location – eg off cuts from old flowlines. It is advisable to
check around the location, and measure items that look suspicious. Contact CPF’s Senior Production Supervisor if any NORM contaminated items are found.
Note 6: There may be radioactive sludge in the xmas tree or at top of stuck wireline plugs. NORM contaminated sludge can be disposed off at the nearest CPF (talk to CPF’s RPS). The sludge needs to be contained – eg in plastic bag and/or drum, accompanied by a shipping manifest and a Norm survey report (006-SF1).
Note 7: NORM contaminated PPE can be disposed off at the nearest CPF (talk to CPF’s RPS). The PPE needs to be put in a plastic bag and/or drum, accompanied by shipping manifest and a Norm survey report (006-SF1).
Note 8: The CPF’s RPS will assist with everything relating to NORM. It is therefore advisable to use him as much as possible (to do surveys and to fill in paperwork).
1. POH, lay down tubing.
Measure tubing for NORM.
If NORM, take precautions as per the NORM manual (Alpha, Beta and Gamma levels versus PPE, handling, exposure limits and containment of the NORM. See Attachment 5 for extract from HSE manual 1.HSE.8.004 Protective equipment).
A PTW needs to be raised whenever pulling NORM contaminated tubing.
Material with NORM is to be kept separate, at a dedicated place. Choose a suitable area, +/- 200m away from location (the dedicated area should be downwind from the location). The rig’s NORM area needs to be marked with warning signs in English and Arabic and also cordoned off with warning tape.
Break subassemblies which are NORM contaminated.
Ensure that the item being measured is far enough away from the other recovered items in order to avoid erroneous readings due to accumulated effects or magnetism. It is good practice to double check the background level, if reading higher or lower than normal background level the item needs to be moved further away. Separating a joint of tubing +/-1 m away from the other joints is usually enough in order to eliminate magnetic and accumulated effects. Magnetic effects often disappear after 3-4 days.
As a general rule it should be remembered that contamination needs to be contained;
Protectors are very good for containing internal contamination. Flanges and items not suitable for standard protectors, need to be properly covered with plastic.
If there is external contamination, then the contamination needs to be contained, in order to avoid rig and location to be contaminated. Cover the rig floor and catwalk with plastic, wrap tubing as soon as it has been laid down, transport tubing to rig’s storage area. To POH externally contaminated tubing is a very slow and labor intensive process. It should be emphasized to the rig crew that it is expected to take long time, and that people must not start to cut corners in order to save time. See pictures below for examples of external contamination.
Picture 1.1.a: Tubing with external scale Picture 1.1.b: Bad practice.
Note 2: during POH, it may be practical to measure only every 5-10joints. Also, as long as the rig is working in ‘NORM mode’ (ie handling NORM contaminated tubulars), measuring every 5-10joint is sufficient, as this will minimize the exposure of the crews.
Note3: prior to back loading of NORM free equipment, every joint that is considered NORM free has to be re-measured. It is advisable to have CPF’s RPS to do this, in order to have an independent check and also to avoid rig personnel being tied up with this work.
Make a table, with columns for Internal, External (contact), External (working distance) for each of Alpha, Beta and Gamma. (see example attachment 1 and 2).
Trigger levels for sending equipment to the NORM plant (extract from 1.HSE.8001 – section 1.4):Alpha: 1 cps above backgroundBeta: 5 cps above backgroundGamma: 0.5 mSv/hr
As an example, if an item reads 6cps Beta and the background level is 2.4 cps, then the item does not need to be sent to the Norm plant.
Readings below background may be due to magnetic interference. A wipe test will confirm whether there is NORM or not.
A wipe test is taken as follows: Wipe a tissue over the surface to be surveyed, cover an area of +/- 300cm2. Take the wipe to a low background area, and if wet allow to dry as any Alpha contamination will be shielded by the moisture. Hold the wipe as close as possible to the probe without touching it and note any response from the rate meter. For a standard wipe (300 cm2), the response should be multiplied by a factor of two in order to reflect the required level of protection (See 1.HSE.8004, pages 5 and 6).
If in doubt, call the RPA or RPS to get verification of readings and advice on whether to send to NORM plant or not.
Take wipe test of some of the joints (ie the highest readings and those with less than back ground), in order to double check for external contamination.
If no NORM: then measure all items again before loading onto truck. It is advisable to have CPF’s RPS to do this. Ensure that the shipping manifest and MRV clearly states ‘No NORM’ and also that the shipping manifest is accompanied by ‘Radiological Survey and NORM Precaution Report’ (Form number 006-SF1), which clearly shall state that there is no NORM in the shipment. RPS will assist in filling in those forms, if required.
Ensure that all joints with NORM contamination is numbered and has well number written onto it.
Ensure that once finished POH or RIH NORM contaminated equipment, that all handling gear is checked for NORM (eg slips, tongs, elevator).
If you cannot get hold of the RPS, then call the safety advisor:Safety advisors telephone numbers (e-mail addresses in brackets):Omar : 32213/32214 (Omar HSE adviser AFPC – OPO/HSE)Tanak : 36313/36314 (Tanak HSE adviser AFPC – OSA/1W)Thayyem : 34513 (Thayyem Safety AFPC – OSA/1T)El Ward : 38113 (El Ward Safety adviser AFPC – OPW/11HSE)
If you cannot get hold of RPS or safety advisor, then try the control room, they always know the whereabouts of RPS and safety advisor.Control room telephone numbers:Omar : 32212Tanak : 36312Thayyem : 34512El Ward : 38112
3. Make list of items with NORM.
Also ensure that all NORM contaminated equipment is numbered and marked with well number.
4. Obtain work order.
Fill in work order request form as per attachment 1 and 2.Give form to the CPF planner for the area. The CPF planner will make a work order, which he will give to you straight away.
CPF planners telephone numbers (fax numbers in brackets):Omar: 32244 (142)Tanak: 36321 (149)Thayyem: 34594 (188)El Ward: 36321 (149) (Same as Tanak)
5. Call NORM plant manager.
Inform NORM plant manager of the quantities of equipment and levels of NORM. Agree with the NORM plant manager on the day for
Call PLS/1 and order trucks. Give PLS/1 at least two days notice. Make it clear to PLS/1 that shipment will be NORM contaminated. This ensures that he sends AFPC trucks and not spot hired trucks.
PLS/1: Julian Harrison / Mike Gibson, ext 34576.
7. Prepare paperwork.
Prepare paperwork / forms as per attachment 1, ie. ‘MRV’, ‘Shipping Manifest’, ‘Work order’, ‘Radiological Survey and NORM Precaution Report’ (006-SF1), ‘Shipping Form – Norm Materials/Equipment’ (008-SF1), ‘Norm Shipment Vehicle Survey Form’ (008-SF2), ‘Norm Inventory Form’ (006-SF3), ‘Norm Contaminated Equipment, Materials and Waste Registration Form’ (006-SF2), Table with Norm readings from the equipment (rig-made table). It is important to include the information as it is done in the attached examples.
Note: the MRV is important, as the items which are ok will be returned to stock after cleaning.
8. On the day of shipment.
Measure truck for NORM prior to loading. This to ensure there is no previous contamination of the vehicle.
Load the truck. Ensure that all pipe is fitted with protectors.
For internally contaminated tubulars protectors will be sufficient to contain the NORM contamination (Alpha and Beta will not go through a protector. Gamma cannot be stopped anyway). For internally contaminated Xmas trees, it is sufficient to cap the ends with e.g. heavy duty plastic (attachment 4).
For externally contaminated tubulars, the preferred way from the drilling crew point of view, would be to wrap the load of tubing as a whole, however the NDF can only handle individually wrapped joints or bundles of maximum 3 joints of tubing. Therefore the currently
and only accepted procedure is, to have each joint individually wrapped, to allow processing of the load in the NDF.
Survey the truck and complete the form ‘Norm Shipment Vehicle Survey Form’ (008-SF2) (see example attachment 1 and 2). Ensure that truck and driver details are filled in correctly.
Give all paperwork to the truck driver (make sure a copy is kept on the rig for future reference and trace-ability).
Label the truck with NORM tags, so that the load is identified as NORM contaminated.
Release the truck, with instruction of going straight to the NORM plant.
Inspect handling equipment such as forklift truck and pipe racks for NORM. Clean if necessary.
Note: It is advisable to have RPS present on the day of shipment to measure/confirm readings and to witness trucks being loaded/inspected before dispatch.
9. Inform NORM plant.
Inform the NORM plant of time of departure of truck and estimated time of arrival of truck at NORM plant.
NOTES:1. If NORM plant is full – use OPO NORM storage yard. Paperwork is
to be routed via OPO in such cases. This needs to be agreed with OPO (via TDE/95).
2. There are discussions ongoing about setting up a NORM transit yard in OMAR. Check with NORM plant if in doubt of this temporary yard’s existence.
3. Radioactive protection instruments need to be inspected/calibrated by RPA/RPS at regular intervals (Monthly). Records need to be kept at the rig (attachment 7).
Attachment 4 - Photograph of typical load with internal contamination.
Note that for tubing, it is sufficient with protectors. Make sure protectors are closed type – not the open type.
For xmas tree, blind flanges are fine to use. If blind flanges not practical/available, then simply use some plastic. Ensure the plastic is properly secured, as it easily can get loose during transport.
Work precautions with contamination are based on the following readings, above background, using the DP2R/4 alpha/beta contamination probe:
Beta count-rate: >15 cps but <150 cpsAlpha count rate: > 2 cps but < 15 cps
Filtering facepiece respirator type P3 (FFP3) or a half-face respirator with type P3 filter. Goggles, gloves, head covering, boots and a long sleeved, ‘disposable’ or impervious coverall should be worn and any cuts or abrasions effectively covered with a waterproof dressing before entering a vessel or a tank. Appropriate aspects of these precautions should be taken for work on other equipment (eg handling tubulars on a workover).
At a measured level of 150 cps (Beta) or 15 cps (Alpha) OSA/1 must be contacted and a higher level of protection may be specified. The protection requirements will be based on the measurement guidelines in the attached extract from 1.HSE.8.004 (Respiratory protective equipment levels) but will also take into account other factors such as specific work conditions, the potential for uncovering higher levels of contamination, whether the contamination is ‘fixed’ or ‘loose’, control procedures, worker expertise and level of supervision.
RPT = Radioactive Protection Technician. He can use instruments. Every CPF has a few RPT’s. In addition, rig’s key personnel should be trained to RPT level, in order to do measurements and fill in paperwork.
RPS = Radioactive Protection Supervisor. Each CPF has a RPS. He is the leader for the RPTs. He is the man to call for assistance.
RPA = Radioactive Protection Advisor. Person filling this position is in Omar. He has overview over training, does instrument calibration. He is the leader for all the RPSs.
