The World of Norm Collection 10 Books Box Set (Book 1-10) By Jonathan Meres

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With increased uranium prices the uranium in ash becomes significant economically. In the 1960s and 1970s, some 1100 tU was recovered from coal ash in the USA.The feasibility depends on grade and the composition of the ash – high acid consumption makes recovery uneconomic. Exposure to naturally occurring radiation is responsible for the majority of an average person’s yearly radiation dose (see also Nuclear Radiation and Health Effects paper) and is therefore not usually considered of any special health or safety significance. However certain industries handle significant quantities of NORM, which usually ends up in their waste streams, or in the case of uranium mining, the tailings dam. Over time, as potential NORM hazards have been identified, these industries have increasingly become subject to monitoring and regulation. However, there is as yet little consistency in NORM regulations among industries and countries. This means that material which is considered radioactive waste in one context may not be considered so in another. Also, that which may constitute low-level waste in the nuclear industry might go entirely unregulated in another industry (see section below on recycling and NORM). In the USA, 858 million tonnes of coal was used in 2013 for electricity production. With an average content of 1.3 ppm uranium and 3.2 ppm thorium, US coal-fired electricity generation in that year gave rise to 1100 tonnes of uranium and 2700 tonnes of thorium in coal ash. In Victoria, Australia, some 65 million tonnes of brown coal is burned annually for electricity production. This contains about 1.6 ppm uranium and 3.0-3.5 ppm thorium, hence about 100 tonnes of uranium and 200 tonnes of thorium is buried in landfill each year in the Latrobe Valley. Though not normally considered as NORM, wastes from the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle through to fuel fabrication may be treated as NORM, opening up more options for disposal. Such material includes uranium oxides. Radon exposure is also an issue in uranium mines. Phosphates and fertilizer production

Gooding, T.D.; Smith, K. R.; Sear, L.K. 2006, A radiological study of pulverised fuel ash (PFA) from UK coal-fired power stations, joint paper by the Health Protection Agency and the United Kingdom Quality Ash Association (UKQAA) presented at the UKQAA's Ash Technology Conference 2006 (AshTech 2006) held in Birmingham, UK on 15-17 May 2006 Radon in homes is one occurrence of NORM which may give rise to concern and action to control it, by ventilation. The amounts of radionuclides involved are noteworthy. US, Australian, Indian and UK coals contain up to about 4 ppm uranium, those in Germany up to 13 ppm, and those from Brazil and China range up to 20 ppm uranium. Thorium concentrations are often about three times those of uranium.

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Language - this is for primary school-children, and they can wait to use mild profanity like 'Gordon-Flipping-Bennet.' That's very annoying. Over 95% of the market for zirconium requires it in the form of zircon (zirconium silicate). This mineral occurs naturally and is mined, requiring little processing. It is used chiefly in foundries, refractories manufacture and the ceramics industry. Zircons typically have activities of up to 10,000 Bg/kg of U-238 and Th-232. No attempt is usually made to remove radionuclides from the zircon as this is not economical. Because zircon is used directly in the manufacture of refractory materials and glazes, the products will contain similar amounts of radioactivity. Higher concentrations may be found in zirconia (zirconium oxide), which is produced by high temperature fusion of zircon to separate the silica. Zirconium metal manufacture involves a chlorination process to convert the oxide to zirconium chloride, which is then reduced to the metal. For seawater injection systems a further NORM issue has more recently come to light: that of bio-film deposits fixing significant amounts of the seawater’s uranium. Australian Nuclear Forum Inc., Information Paper No. 1, August 2002,Trace Elements in Australian Coals, Dale, L., Trace Elements in Coal, Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP), Report No. 2 (October 2006)

NORM in the oil and gas industry poses a problem to workers particularly during maintenance, waste transport and processing, and decommissioning. In particular Pb-210 deposits and films, as a beta emitter, is only a concern when pipe internals become exposed. External exposure due to NORM in the oil and gas industry are generally low enough not to require protective measures to ensure that workers stay beneath their annual dose limits (such as set out by the IAEA basic safety standards). Internal exposures can be minimized by hygiene practices. Metals and smelting In 2017 Australia exported 372 million tonnes of coal. With an average of 0.9 ppm uranium and 2.6 ppm thorium, at least 330 tonnes of uranium per year and 970 tonnes of thorium could conceivably be added to published export figures. Radioactive materials which occur naturally and where human activities increase the exposure of people to ionising radiation are known by the acronym 'NORM'. International Atomic Energy Agency, Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM VII): Proceedings of an International Symposium Beijing, China, 22-26 April 2013, STI/PUB/1664, ISBN 9789201040145 (January 2015)

Industries producing NORM

NORM potentially includes all radioactive elements found in the environment. However, the term is used more specifically for all naturally occurring radioactive materials where human activities have increased the potential for exposure compared with the unaltered situation. Concentrations of actual radionuclides may or may not have been increased; if they have, the term technologically-enhanced NORM (TENORM) may be used. It is evident that even at 1 part per million (ppm) U in coal, there is more energy in the contained uranium (if it were to be used in a fast neutron reactor) than in the coal itself. If coal had 25 ppm uranium and that uranium was used simply in a conventional reactor, it would yield half as much thermal energy as the coal. Radioactive Waste in the Oil and Gas Industry, Safety Report Series No. 419, STI/PUB/1171 (ISBN: 9201140037) Tantalum usually occurs with the chemically-similar niobium, often in tantalite and columbite, coltan (columbite + tanatalite), or polychlore (niobium). Tantalum ores, often derived from pegmatites, comprise a wide variety of more than a hundred minerals, some of which contain uranium and/or thorium. Hence the mined ore and concentrate contain both these and their decay products in their crystal lattice. Concentration of the tantalum minerals is generally by gravity methods (as with mineral sands), so the lattice-bound radioisotope impurities if present will report with the concentrate. European Commission (Directorate-General for Energy and Transport), 2003 Radiation Protection 135: Effluent and dose control from European Union NORM industries: Assessment of current situation and proposal for a harmonised Community approach, Volume 1: Main Report.

Radon exposure is often an issue in metal mines, and a survey of 25 underground mines in China showed six having radon concentrations of over the control limit of 1000 Bq/m 3. In all the metal mines the annual average effective dose from radon and radon progeny was 7.75 mSv. Mineral sands Gonzalez, A, J., 2011, Radiation Protection, presentation given at the World Nuclear University Event –‘Key Issues in the World Nuclear Industry Today’, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. During combustion the radionuclides are retained and concentrated in the flyash and bottom ash, with a greater concentration to be found in the flyash. The concentration of uranium and thorium in bottom and flyash can be up to ten times greater than for the burnt coal, while other radionuclides such as Pb-210 and K-40 can concentrate to an even greater degree in the flyash. Some 99% of flyash is typically retained in a modern power station (90% in some older ones). While much flyash is buried in an ash dam, a lot is used in building construction. Table 3 gives some published figures for the radioactivity of ash. There are obvious implications for the use of flyash in concrete. Earlier IAEA recommendations for the classification of exempt waste ( i.e. beneath low-level, and therefore not requiring any special facilities for disposal) are between 10 Bq/g and 1 MBq/g for 'moderate amounts'– depending on the radionuclide in question and the chances of public exposure ( Radiation Protection and Safety of Radiation Sources: International Basic Safety Standards, IAEA July 2014), however in practice categorization of waste is strongly determined by where the waste comes from. Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are chemically rather similar to uranium and thorium they are often found in conjunction with these radionuclides.In Australia the NSW Aboriginal Lands Council has applied for a uranium exploration licence over four large coal ash dams adjacent to power stations. Coal mining The list of isotopes that contribute to natural radiation can be divided into those materials which come from the ground (terrestrial sources – the vast majority) and those which are produced as a result of the interaction of atmospheric gases with cosmic rays (cosmogenic).