University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Radiation Exposure to Natural Radioactivity in Crude Oil and Petroleum Waste from Oil Fields in Ghana; Modelling, Risk Assessment and Regulatory Control A dissertation presented to the: Department of NUCLEAR SAFETY AND SECURITY UNIVERSITY OF GHANA by DAVID OKOH KPEGLO (ID: 10255978) BSc (Kumasi), 2006 MPhil (Legon), 2009 In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in RADIATION PROTECTION June, 2015 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DECLARATION This dissertation is the result of research work undertaken by David Okoh KPEGLO in the department of Nuclear Safety and Security, university of Ghana, under the supervision of Prof. Emmanuel O. Darko (SNAS, UG-Legon, Ghana), Prof. G. Emi-reynolds (SNAS, UG- Legon, Ghana), Prof. Rafael García-Tenorio García-Balmaseda (University of Seville, Spain), and Dr. Juan Mantero Cabrera (University of Seville, Spain). Sign: Date: 04- 03 - 2016 Kpeglo Okoh David (Student) Sign: Date: 04- 03 – 2016 Prof. Emmanuel O. Darko (Principal Supervisor) Sign: Date: 04- 03 – 2016 Prof. G. Emi-reynolds (Co-Supervisor) Sign: Date: 04- 03 – 2016 Prof. Rafael García-Tenorio García-Balmaseda (Co-Supervisor) Sign: Date: 04- 03 - 2016 Dr. Juan Mantero Cabrera (Co-Supervisor) i University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DEDICATION This research work is dedicated to the OKOH KPEGLO Family ii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I will like to first of all thank the Almighty God for his strength and mercies that have enabled me to complete this research work successfully. The insightful contributions of my Supervisors, Prof. E. O. Darko, Prof. G. Emi-reynolds, Prof. Rafael García-Tenorio García- Balmaseda and Dr. Juan Mantero Cabrera who reviewed this work time after time are gratefully appreciated. I would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency in the form of an 18 months Sandwich Fellowship at the university of Seville Spain, and do thank the Radiation Protection Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, which provided logistics and resources for carrying out sampling. All major analyses were carried out at the laboratories of the Environmental Radioactivity group, Department of Applied Physics II, University of Seville, and the contributions from various members of staff, especially, Prof. Guillermo Manjon, Dr. Ignacio Vioque, Jose Ruiz Diaz, Jose Antonio Galvan and Inma Diaz, are gratefully acknowledged. I am also grateful to the management of the Ghana National petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Tullow Ghana Limited (TGL), Saltpond offshore Producing Company Limited (SOPCL) and Zeal Environmental Technologies Limited (ZETL) for their cooperation, especially Mr. Emmanuel Arthur and Mr. Larry Ibrahim Abdul-Zahir of TGL, Mr. Ababio of GNPC, Mr. Wilfred Bentum of ZETL and Jibril Idris of SOPCL. The sampling within the communities was facilitated by the community leaders namely; Mr Kwame Abosompini, Mr Kwaku Simpah, Mr John Amoah and Oman Kyeame Suapem, and I am very grateful for their assistance. Finally, I will like to express my gratitude to all Scientists and Technicians of the Radiation Protection Institute, GAEC, especially the Director of the iii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Institute, Professor Emi Reynolds, Prof. E.O. Darko and Dr. Augustine Faanu, and to all who helped in diverse ways for this work to come to a successful completion. God bless you all. iv University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABBREVIATIONS AECS Atomic Energy Commission of Syria AFPC Al-Furat Petroleum Company ALARA As Low As Reasonably Achievable API American Petroleum Institute APPEA Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association BSS Basic Safety Standards CHARM Chemical Hazard Assessment and Risk Management CMOS Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor C-NLOPB Canada-Newfound Land Offshore Petroleum Board DJ Diffused Junction ENI Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (Italy) EPA Environmental Production Agency E&P Exploration and Production ERA Ecological Risk Management ESRF Environmental Studies Research Fund FPSO Floating Production Storage and Offloading GAEC Ghana Atomic Energy Commission GHEITI Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative GPNC Ghana National Petroleum Corporation GSA Ghana Standard Authority HPGe High Purity Germanium HPWJ High Pressure Water Jetting v University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency IARC International Agency for Research on Cancer ICRP International Commission on Radiological Protection ICP-QMS Inductively Coupled Plasma Quadrupole-Based Mass Spectrometry MCA Multi-Channel Analyzer NORM Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material NRC Nuclear Regulatory Commission NRPA Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority NYSDEC New York State Department of Environmental Conversation OPAR Oslo/Paris PCB Polychlorinated Biphenyl ROPME Regional Organization for Protection of the Marine Environment RPB Radiation Protection Board SEM Scanning Electron Microscopy SSB Silicon Surface Barrier SSDL Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory SOPCL Salt pond Offshore Producing Company Limited SWACO Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio TECDOC Technical Documentation TGL Tullow Ghana Limited UKOOA United Kingdom Offshore Operation Association UNSCEAR United Nation Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation USEPA United States Environmental Agency vi University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh WEEE Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment WERF Water Environment Research Foundation WHO World Health Organization XRD X-Ray Diffraction XRF X-Ray Fluorescence vii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table of Contents DECLARATION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………i DEDICATION………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………………………………………………………….iii ABBREVIATIONS……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….v LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….xv LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..xx LIST OF PLATES…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….xxiv ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….xxv CHAPTER ONE…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….….….1 INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1 1.1 Background………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1 1.2 Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………………………………………………………...7 1.3 Research Objectives……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….8 1.4 Significance of the study………………………………………………………………………………………………………....9 1.5 Scope and Limitation………………………………………………………………………………………………………………10 1.6 Structure of the Thesis…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….11 CHAPTER TWO………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….12 LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..12 Overview………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………12 2.1 NORM in the Oil and Gas Industry…………………………………………………………………………………………12 2.2 Origin of Petroleum………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..15 2.3 NORMs in the Petroleum Industry………………………………………………………………………………………….16 viii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.4. Radiological Characteristics of NORM……………………………………………………………………………………20 2.5 Occurrence of NORMS in Scale, Sludge and Sand…………………………………………………………………..25 2.5.1 Occurrence of NORM scale ................................................................................................... 25 2.5.2 Occurrence of NORM sand ................................................................................................... 27 2.5.3 Occurrence of NORM sludge ................................................................................................ 28 2.5.4 A summary of radionuclide concentrations of NORM .......................................................... 28 2.6 Radiation Protection Aspects of NORM…………………………………………………………………………………..29 2.6.1 Radiation exposure pathway .................................................................................................. 30 2.6.2. External exposure ................................................................................................................. 31 2.6.3. Internal exposure ................................................................................................................... 33 2.6.4. Decontamination of plant and equipment ............................................................................. 35 2.6.5. Practical radiation protection measures ................................................................................ 36 2.6.5.1. Measures against external exposure ................................................................................... 38 2.6.5.2. Measures against internal exposure ................................................................................... 39 2.7 Oil and Gas Companies in Ghana and Waste Transfer………………………………………………………………39 2.7.1 The waste transfer .................................................................................................................. 40 2.7.1.1 Associated waste ................................................................................................................. 40 2.7.1.2 Drilling waste ...................................................................................................................... 41 2.7.1.3 Produced water ..................................................................................................................