NORM Radiation Safety Officer Course (RSO) Outline

Day 1
1. Introductions/overview
a. Why we do NORM Training
d. Different Levels of NORM Training

2. General Health Physics

a. Radiological Awareness
b. Measuring radiation
c. Sources of Radiation
d. Radiation symbols and labels
e. Radiation Instruments

3. What is NORM
a. Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM)
b. Physical Characteristics of NORM
c. Where NORM is found in the oil and gas industry
d. Radium
e. Scale
f. Sludge
g. NORM Levels
h. Three phases of oil and gas production

4. Geological Information
a. Parent Radionuclides
b. Uranium
c. Thorium
d. Oil and Gas Formation

5. Introduction to Radiation
a. Energy
b. Radiation
c. Natural Background Radiation
d. Terrestrial Radiation
e. Internal Radiation
f. Cosmic Radiation
g. Historical and Current Uses for Radiation
h. Radon
Carbon Dating

Basic Chemistry

9227 Thomasville Drive

Houston, TX 77064
Phone: 281-894-6500
Fax: 281-894-6504
E-mail: shaunal@epdi.biz
WWW.EPDI.BIZ
 5. Introduction to Radiation (Continued)
i. Carbon Dating

6. Basic Chemistry
a. Atoms and Elements
b. Periodic table
c. Energy and Matter
d. Ionization
e. Isotopes

7. Review of Day wrap-up and questions

Day 2
1. Radioactive Decay
a. Radioactive Particle and Ray
i. Alpha Particles
Ii. Beta Particles
Iii. Gamma Rays
b. Difference Between Radiation Exposure and Contamination
c. Difference Between Ionizing and Non-Ionizing Radiation
d. Half-life
e. Understanding Radioactive Decay

2. Radiation Units of Measurement

a. Roentgen
b. Rad
c. Rem
d. Quality Factors
e. Gray
f. Becquerel
g. Currie
h. DPM and CPM

3. Radiation Calculations and Dose Limits

a. Radiation Dose Limits
b. Background Radiation
d. Radiation Exposure for Workers and the General Public
d. ALI and DAC
e. Distance Calculations
f. Radioactive Decay Calculations
g. Shielding Calculations

4. NORM Regulations
a. General Licensing Requirements
b. Specific Licensing Requirements
c. State Breakdown of NORM Regulations
5. Tour of the Nuclear Engineering Teach Lab Facility
 6. Survey Methods
a. Loose Contamination
b. Fixed Contamination
c. Radiation Survey Instruments
d. Gas Filled Probe
e. Scintillation Probe
f. Radiation Detection Devices and Instrumentation for Field Use
g. Survey Methods
h. Survey Documentation
i. Personal Contamination Surveys (Frisks)
j. Air and Soil and Water Monitoring
k. Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy in NORM Analysis
l. Shipping NORM Samples

7. Review of Day and Wrap-up

Day 3
1. Survey Practical Section
a. Frisking Out
b. Performing NORM Survey
c. Setting up a Job Site
d. Boundary Set
e. Practice Safety Meeting with Paperwork
f. Smear Wipe Test

2. Worker Safety
a. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
b. Minimizing Radiation Exposure
c. Hydrogen Sulfide
d. TLD Badges and Dosimeter
e. Safety and Health Protection of Employees
f. Restricted Areas
g. Minimizing Dust and NORM in the Environment
h. Emergency Preparedness
i. Fixed Verses Non-Fixed Contamination
j. Field Swipe Tests
k. Respirators
3. Practical Lab section

4. Review of Day and Wrap-up

Day 4
1. Gamma Ray Detection
a. Interaction of Gamma Radiation with Matter
b. Photoelectric Effect
c. Compton Suppression
d. Pair Production and Annihilation
e. Solid State Radioactive Detectors

Health Effects
General Health Effects from Radiation
Stochastic verses Non-Stochastic Health Effects
Risk and Radiation Dose Theories
 2. Health Effects
a. General Health Effects from Radiation
b. Stochastic verses Non-Stochastic Health Effects
c. Risk and Radiation Dose Theories
d. Direct and Indirect Effects of Radiation
e. Ionization and Radiolysis of Water
f. Biological of a Cell and DNA Damage
g. Radiosensitivity
h. Acute and Chronic Radiation Exposure
i. Working Level Month
j. Health Effects of Specific Radionuclides
k. ALARA Principle
l. Loss of Life Expectancy

3. Waste and Disposal

a. Radioactive Waste
b. Scope of Radioactive Waste Management
c. NORM Disposal Methods

4. Worker Protection Guidelines for NORM

a. RSO Responsibilities
b. Radiological Assessment
c. Operational and Radiological Controls
d. Worker Training
e. Worker Protection Plan
f. Radiation Sign Posting Requirements

5. Review and Study Time

Day 5
1. Transportation
a. Introduction to Transportation
b. DOT NORM Exempt Concentration Rule
C. Types of Packaging
D. Limited Quantity Shipment
E. E. Low Specific Activity Shipment
f. Surface Contaminated Object Shipment
g. Shipping of Samples

2. Review for exam

3. Examination

4. Course Evaluations