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SUMMARY:Investigating radiological risk due to solid-phase ‘black powder
 ’ from the Secunda Gas Pipeline
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260519T100000Z
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260519T102000Z
DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260624T082525Z
UID:indico-contribution-3813@indico.tlabs.ac.za
DESCRIPTION:Speakers: Tsholofelo Mokgele (North-West University )\nThe ext
 raction and transport of natural gas leads to the accumulation of black po
 wder\, a hazardous byproduct composed of corrosion species\, microorganism
 s and Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) within gas pipeline
 s. These NORM contaminants tend to concentrate within dust filters and dur
 ing periodic 'pigging' operations\, posing a potential radiological threat
  to workers and the environment. The study evaluated the radiological asse
 ssment of black powder collected at the Secunda gas pipeline by determinin
 g the activity concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides 226Ra\,
  232Th and 40K using gamma spectrometry. Results show that the average act
 ivity concentrations for black powder obtained from pigging operations wer
 e 2.53 ± 0.18 (range: 1.87 - 2.94)\, 4.23 ± 0.32 (range: 2.78 - 5.00) an
 d 27.17 ± 1.75 (range: 23.59 - 29.76) Bq/kg for 226Ra\, 232Th and 40K res
 pectively. Similarly\, the average activity concentrations for black powde
 r obtained from dust filters during normal operations resulted in 1.82 ± 
 0.21 (range: 1.34 - 2.24)\, 1.67 ± 0.26 (range: 1.27 - 2.21)\, 25.98 ± 1
 .73 (range: 18.36 - 2.71) Bq/kg for 226Ra\, 232Th and 40K respectively. Ra
 diological hazard indices were also determined by calculating the Raeq\, D
 \, Hex\, Hin\, AEDE and ELCR. Average values for these indices for black p
 owder samples from pigging operations were 10.68 Bq/kg\, 4.86 nGy/h\, 0.03
 \,0.04\, 5.96 × 10-3 mSv/yr and 2.0 × 10-5 respectively. For black powde
 r samples from dust filters\, the corresponding average values were 5.13 B
 q/kg\, 2.47 nGy/h\, 0.01\, 0.02\, 3.03× 10-3 mSv/yr and 1.06 × 10-5\, re
 spectively. All calculated radiological hazard indices were significantly 
 below the recommended regulatory safety limits\, indicating negligible rad
 iological risks to maintenance workers during pigging and filter replaceme
 nt operations.\n\nhttps://indico.tlabs.ac.za/event/139/contributions/3813/
LOCATION:NRF-iThemba LABS\, Old Faure Road\, Cape Town Auditorium
URL:https://indico.tlabs.ac.za/event/139/contributions/3813/
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