From: John Cuccia 

On Thu, 26 Dec 2002 21:12:36 -0500, "Geo."  wrote:

>I've never worked in the industry but I know when they drill oil wells
>around here they don't seem to be concerned about getting covered from head
>to toe in whatever comes out of the hole.

I know that there are extensive rules for handling and storage of NORM
(Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material) in oilfield wastes and used
equipment.  While my experience is limited, I've never seen special
precautions on the rig floor.

Google has some info, of course.

This is a cached press release, trumpeting victory,  from a law firm
specializing in corporate defense (so it should be taken with a grain of
salt).  Note the last sentence in the excerpt:

http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:ph_kCRhtBQYC:www.kslaw.com/our_firm/press_
releases/pr_12_26_01.html+N.O.R.M.+oilfield&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
"In support of his ruling on punitive damages, Judge Starrett relied
on one of Chevron's experts on radioactive materials in oilfield operations
who lauded Chevron's prior response to NORM as "exemplary." NORM
is a natural component of oil and gas production in many fields in the
United States, especially fields located in southeastern oil producing
states such as Mississippi and Louisiana. In April of 1986, Chevron
discovered that oilfield scale may contain concentrations of NORM
sufficient to present an exposure concern. Chevron immediately notified
state and federal regulators and actively participated with both the
regulatory community and other oil and gas producers, to evaluate and
appropriately address the issue. A prolonged investigation revealed that
oilfield NORM exists only in very low levels, and does not present a health
or safety concern to oilfield workers, landowners or the general
public."



Here are the government rules for disposal of all wastes, including those
containing NORM:

http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/regulate/regs/ntls/ntl99-g22.html


And here's a lot more than I ever wanted to know about NORM (it has it's
own web page!):

http://www.tenorm.com/
http://www.tenorm.com/sectors.htm#Oil%20and%20Gas%20Production%20Scale%20and%20
Sludge

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-4