![]() However, depending on the nature of the TENORM and the applicable laws and regulations, TENORM may be categorized as a type of radioactive waste and must be managed as such (a point of confusion is that many forms of TENORM are frequently described as “NORM waste” or similar even though the materials have clearly been technologically enhanced, i.e., are not in their natural state this is particularly common outside the US). Many types of TENORM are not presently managed with regard to their radioactive content. ![]() Examples include the scale buildup in piping used in oil production that contains elevated concentrations of radium and its decay products, or fly ash from burning coal. TENORM is NORM in which the concentration or availability of radionuclides has been enhanced by anthropogenic activities such as mining or utilization. Another factor in energy industries’ reliance on rare earths is the complicated state of the regulation of naturally occurring radiological materials correspondingly, this paper also explores regulatory and management implications.įor the purposes of this paper, a more important category of material is technologically-enhanced NORM (TENORM). About half of the collective dose from non-nuclear energy production results from use of fuel cracking catalysts for oil refining, although given the extent of the oil industry, it is a small dose when normalized to the energy equivalent of the oil that is used annually. ![]() It was determined that typical rare earth mining results in an occupational collective dose of approximately 0.0061 person-mSv/t rare earth elements, amounting to a total of 330 person-mSv/year across all non-nuclear energy industries (about 60% of the annual collective dose from one pressurized water reactor operated in the US, although for rare earth mining the impact is spread out over many more workers). This paper explores the extent to which rare earths are used by various non-nuclear energy industries and estimates the radiological dose which can be attributed to these industries on absolute and normalized scales. Rare earth minerals are frequently collocated with naturally occurring radioactive material, imparting an occupational radiological dose during recovery. Energy industries account for a significant portion of total rare earth usage, both in the US and worldwide.
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