ABSTRACT:

Radiation exposure of workers in the oil-gas industry can occur by inhalation of high-levels of radon gas; increased gamma dose rates; increased gamma dose rate due to 226Ra, 210Pb, 228Ra, and 228Th. The waste also has elevated contents of long-lived radionuclides. Finally, the recycling of waste originating within the oil-gas industry can pose a contamination problem. The various exposure pathways and a regulatory framework are discussed with regard to their applicability to the conditions in the Caspian Region.

INTRODUCTION:

Technologically Enhanced Natural Radiation (TENR) means radiation from naturally occurring isotopes to which exposure would not occur by (or would be increased by) some technological activity not expressly designed to produce radiation. TENR and the oil and gas industry had a strained relationship. For almost 30 years it has been discussed in the scientific community that some workers in the oil and gas industry are exposed to echnologically enhanced levels of natural radioactivity [1,2]. However, this industry was rather reluctant to acknowledge its employees as potentially occupationally exposed to radiation.

Since 1991 the situation has improved to some extent because the International Commission for Radiological Protection (ICRP) has recommended that the full system of radiation protection should also apply for these workers, provided the TENR exposure scenario in average dose values exceeds 1 mSv/yr [3]. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), recommending to its member states to adopt the ICRP recommendation [4], further expressed the concern over this issue. It is important to recognize that on the one hand, TENR exposure in terms of individual dose of a worker in the oil and gas industry is truly a global issue due to the global distribution of reserves. On the other hand, these figures clearly show that the impact on the collective dose is not uniform, i.e. the number of workers subject to TENR exposure is significantly higher in the Middle East and Central Asia as compared to the number of workers of all other regions combined. For example, the contribution to the total world oil production by the different regions is as follows (approximate figures):

• Asia Pacific region: 10%

• Europe: 10%

• The Americas: 20%

• Middle East, Central Asia(incl. former Soviet Union):60%

In Azerbaijan, both oil and gas exploration is continuing to expand. From January to July 2003, the national State Oil Company (SOCAR) produced 5,196,000 tons of oil, exceeding the production of the same period in 2002 by 15,400 tons. The national gas industry produced in the same period of 2003 almost 3 billion m3 of natural gas (an increase of 77.5 million m3 over the forecast [5].

It is emphasized that in many countries the oil and gas industry represents a powerful concentration of capital and is frequently one of the main providers of a large number of jobs. Therefore this industry is able to exert also significant lobbying power at the political level. For example, in Brazil until recently a single company had the monopoly to extract oil in all of Brazil, making it the largest Brazilian commercial and industrial enterprise. Such a concentration of power can pose a significant hurdle in enforcing the implementation of any TENR-relevant legislation, as in the case of Brazil. The situation is still worse in many other countries with large oil and gas extraction industries, which have not even yet finished their internal discussion on how to adopt a common regulatory structure with regard to TENR. This is the current situation for: Argentina, Azerbaijan, Australia, Bolivia, China, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.

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