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

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NORM results from activities such as burning coal, making and using fertilisers, oil and gas production. Cosmogenic NORM is formed as a result of interactions between certain gases in the Earth’s atmosphere and cosmic rays, and is only relevant to this paper due to flying being a common mode of transport. Since most cosmic radiation is deflected by the Earth’s magnetic field or absorbed by the atmosphere, very little reaches the Earth’s surface and cosmogenic radionuclides contribute more to dose at low altitudes than cosmic rays as such. At higher altitudes, the dose due to both increases, meaning that mountain dwellers and frequent flyers are exposed to higher doses than others. For most people, cosmogenic NORM barely contributes to dose – perhaps a few tens of microsieverts per year. By contrast, terrestrial NORM – especially radon – contributes to the majority of natural dose, usually over 1000 microsieverts (1 mSv) per year. Some of the main comsogenic nuclides are shown in Table 1, carbon-14 being important for dating early human activities. Granite, widely used as a cladding on city buildings and also architecturally in homes, contains an average of 3 ppm (40 Bq/kg) uranium and 17 ppm (70 Bq/kg) thorium. Radiation measurements on granite surfaces can show levels similar to those from low-grade uranium mine tailings. Table 8 shows some recorded activity concentrations for building materials. However some extreme values in excess of these have also been recorded. Typically exposure to radon and its progeny accounts for half of an individual’s radiation dose, making it the single largest contributor. This radon comes from the ground, with exposure affected by factors such as local geography, building construction, and lifestyle. Radon levels in the air range from about 4 to 20 Bq/m 3. Indoor radon levels have attracted a lot of interest since the 1970s and in USA they average about 55 Bq/m 3, with an EPA action level of 150 Bq/m3. Levels in Scandinavian homes are about double the US average, and those in Australian homes average one fifth of those in USA. Levels up to 100,000 Bq/m 3 have been measured in US homes. In caves open to the public, levels of up to 25,000 Bq/m 3 have been measured.A Japanese study on 3000 residents living in an area with 60 Bq/m 3 radon near Misasa hot springs showed no health difference. The ICRP recommends keeping workplace radon levels below 300 Bq/m 3, equivalent to about 10 mSv/yr. European Union Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2014:013:0001:0073:EN:PDF

Norm wakes up with his dog on his face. His brother tells him to come down, because his parents want to speak to him. Cut to Norm lamenting on the woes of having siblings and reminiscing about the days of being an only child, and getting a shed-load of attention. His parents say they're going to a loathable shop, but he must stay in to wait on a parcel. They leave. He makes a deal with annoying neighbour Chelsea to have her wait on the parcel. Now time to do the awesome thing that is biking with best friend Mikey. Stupid name. Sorry. Crashes his bike. Finds Mikey isn't in and just bought a new bike for no good reason. Strikes off friendship for petty reason. Finds the parcel is an okay phone for him. Gets his grandfather to mend the bike. All is well. 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. Decommissioning experts are increasingly concerned about double standards developing in Europe which allow 30 times the dose rate from non-nuclear recycled materials than from those out of the nuclear industry. In respect to actual dose limits, 0.3 to 1.0 mSv/yr individual dose constraint is applied to oil and gas recyclables, and 0.01 mSv/yr for release of materials with the same kind of radiation from the nuclear industry.Radon also occurs in natural gas at up to 37,000 Bq/m 3, but by the time it gets to consumers the radon has largely decayed. However, the solid decay products then contaminate gas processing plants, and this manifestation of NORM is an occupational health issue, as discussed above. 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. 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. 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. In South Africa, HolGoun's Uranium and Power Project was investigating uranium recovery from the Springbok Flats coal field, estimated to contain 84,000 tU at grades of 0.06 to 0.10% U. The project is investigating the feasibility of mining the low-grade coal, using it to fire a conventional electricity generation plant, and extracting the uranium from the residual ash.

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. McBride et al., 1977, Radiological Impact of Airborne Effluents of Coal-Fired and Nuclear Power Plants, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL-5315 NORM and cosmic radiation account for over 85% of an ‘average individual’s’ radiation exposure. Most of the balance is from exposure related to medical procedures. (Exposure from the nuclear fuel cycle - including fallout from the Chernobyl accident - accounts for less than 0.1%.) Industries producing NORM Coal Energy– combustion and ash

Another NORM issue relates to radon exposure in homes, particularly those built on granitic ground. Occupational health issues include the exposure of flight crew to higher levels of cosmic radiation, the exposure of tour guides to radon in caves, exposure of miners to radon underground, and exposure of workers in the oil & gas and mineral sands industries to elevated radiation levels in the materials they handle. NORM sources