Measurement the natural level of radiation in oil extraction operations

Recently attention has been devoted to the risks arising from naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) in oil fields and facilities and to ensure the safety of using radioactive materials, many studies have been conducted in the field of radiation protection. Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMs) are generated as secondary wastes in very large quantities in the oil industry. A large-scale survey was conducted in one of the most productive areas in the Halfaya oil fields of Maysan Governorate in southern Iraq. 30 soil samples were collected from ten different locations at depths of (30 cm, 40 cm, and 50 cm). Activity concentrations were obtained for (Ra-226, Th-232 and K-40). The average radioactivity of Ra-226, Th-232 and K-40 was measured in the 10 selected sites using a scintillation detector (NaI (Tl)). In addition, the results obtained were compared with recommended international values and the results were within the normal permissible level. From the obtained result, one could see that the distribution was not uniform. For (30cm) depth, the minimum values of (U-238, Th-232 and K-40) radionuclides are 450.4 Bq/kg recorded in sample 4, 20.4 Bq/kg recorded in sample 10 and 24.8 Bq/kg recorded in sample 2 respectively, while the maximum values are 1386.6 Bq/kg recorded in sample 6, 54.2 Bq/kg recorded in sample 9 and 129 Bq/kg recorded in sample 5 respectively, with an average of 1035.16 Bq/kg, 45.91 Bq/kg and 71.9 Bq/kg respectively. For (40cm) depth, the minimum value of (U-238, Th-232 and K-40) radionuclides is 17.6 Bq/kg recorded in sample 1, 22 Bq/kg recorded in sample 1 and 407.8 Bq/kg recorded in sample 9 respectively, while the maximum value is 84.8 Bq/kg recorded in sample 6, 152.8 Bq/kg recorded in sample 8 and 1647.6 Bq/kg recorded in sample 8 respectively, with an average of 61.09 Bq/kg, 80.5 Bq/kg and 1161.38 Bq/kg respectively. For (50cm) depth, the minimum value of (U-238, Th-232 and K-40) radionuclides is 40 Bq/kg recorded in sample 9, 22.8 Bq/kg recorded in sample 2 and 462.4 Bq/kg recorded in sample 9 respectively, while the maximum value is 100.6 Bq/kg recorded in sample 5, 137.8 Bq/kg recorded in sample 8 and 1796.4 Bq/kg recorded in sample 10 respectively, with an average of 35 Bq/kg, 35 Bq/kg and 350 Bq/kg respectively. Also, artificial radionuclide was not detected in any of the measured samples, just the specific activity of K-40 was much higher than that of U-238 and Th- 232. So, the periodical monitoring is recommended to in order to assess the risk to the population health.