The main radionuclide in scrap from the oil and gas industry is radium-226, with a half-life of 1600 years as it decays to radon. Those in nuclear industry scrap are cobalt-60 and caesium-137, with much shorter half-lives. Application of a 0.3 mSv/yr dose limit results in a clearance level for Ra-226 of 500 Bq/kg for oil/gas scrap, compared with 10 Bq/kg for nuclear material. Over the years there have been many occasions when it was asserted that coal-fired power stations emitted more radioactivity into the environment (from NORM) than was released anywhere in the nuclear fuel cycle. While having some basis in fact, the claim is generally not correct now where deployment of emission reduction technology– scrubbers, filters and flue gas desulphurization– acts to capture solids from this material.More volatile Po-210 and Pb-210 still escape. In China, coal-fired power plants are a major source of radioactivity released to the environment and thus contribute significantly to enhanced NORM there. (Wu et al in NORM VII)

The eleventh hilarious title in the award-winning, laugh-out-loud series, The World of Norm. Perfect for fans of Tom Gates and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Norm knew it was going to be one of those days when he woke up and nothing happened ... Home alone and the fridge to himself? What could possibly go wrong? Well, apart from the snails. And having to hang his mum's pants out to dry. And the dreaded perfect cousins paying a visit. And worst of all, the entire family going vege-flipping-tarian! But apart from that, what could possibly go wrong? You'd think Norm would know better by now, wouldn't you? ABSO-FLIPPING-LUTELY! With brilliantly funny illustrations throughout from Donough O'Malley. Praise for Jonathan Meres: 'Hilarious stuff from one of my comic heroes!' - Harry Hill 'Jonathan Meres is flipping funny!' - Eddie Izzard About This Edition ISBN: 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). Exposure to radon is a problem in certain mining activities, notably uranium mining, and good ventilation must be assured so as to keep occupational exposure down, and levels must be monitored. 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.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. Mineral sands contain zircon, ilmenite, and rutile, with xenotime and monazite. These minerals are mined in many countries and production amounts to millions of tonnes per year of zirconium and titanium (from rutile and ilmenite), though thorium, tin and the rare earth elements are associated. The NORM aspect is due to monazite – a rare earth phosphate containing a variety of rare earth minerals (particularly cerium and lanthanum) and 5-12% (typically about 7%) thorium, and xenotime – yttrium phosphate with traces of uranium and thorium. 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. 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.

Australian Nuclear Forum Inc., Information Paper No. 1, August 2002,Trace Elements in Australian Coals, The EU encourages the use of NORM residues in building materials, subject to dose rate from gamma exposure being below 1 mSv/yr from them. Coal ash and smelting slag are an important constituent of building materials in China. Recycling and NORMTypically a soil cleanup level of 0.5 to 1 Bq/g is a goal, though for residential land in UK 0.1 Bq/g is the level required. Material above the target level is sent to landfill, and anything over 100 Bq/g needs to be buried. Heavy metals may be of more concern than radionuclides in such situations.Following the Fukushima accident large areas were contaminated mainly with caesium fallout. In 2016 the government announced that material with less than 8 Bq/g caesium would no longer be subject to restriction regarding disposal. Radon