Radiation Environment and Medicine 2023 Vol.12, No.2 111–120

ReportA Report of Pollutant Releases of Potential Radiological Concern
from Major NORM Industries in Canada
Jing Chen*
Radiation Protection Bureau, Health Canada, 775 Brookfield Road, Ottawa K1A 1C1, Canada
Received 17 November, 2022; revised 4 February, 2023; accepted 2 March, 2023

Activities involved with naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) cover broad industrial
sectors with very diverse characteristics. The main contributors to the NORM releases aremining and mineral processing industries. Releases from industries involving NORM are often
produced in large amounts, but not well characterised radiologically; as a result, data are lacking
to characterize public and worker exposures. The National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI)
contains a total of 323 pollutants released to air, water and land from all industries in Canada.
However, all major radionuclides from uranium and thorium series are not in the reporting listof NPRI. Given this constraint, this report advances our understanding of releases from NORM
industries by describing the nature and magnitude of releases for pollutant substances reported in
NPRI that are known to have naturally occurring radioactive isotopes other than in uranium andthorium series, and total particulate matters with great potential containing radionuclides fromuranium and thorium series. The results indicate that NORM industries are responsible for almost
all of the releases to air for the pollutant substances reviewed here: 100% for thallium and its
compounds, 97% for lead and its compounds, 95% for cadmium and its compounds, 91% for selenium
and its compounds, and 86% for total particulate matter (< 100μm).
Key words: NORM, releases, pollution

1. Introduction
Natural radionuclides are present in the naturalenvironment since the formation of the Earth. All
minerals and natural raw materials contain the so-calledʻprimordialʼ radionuclides 238U, 235U and 232Th and theirdecay progeny, as well as 40K. Earth materials also containother radionuclides of natural origin, often in trace
amounts. The term of naturally occurring radioactive
material (NORM) ref ers to radioactive material*Jing Chen: Radiation Protection Bureau, Health Canada, 775 Brookfield Road,
Ottawa K1A 1C1, Canada
E-mail: Jing.chen@hc-sc.gc.ca
https://doi.org/10.51083/radiatenvironmed.12.2_111
Copyright © 2023 by Hirosaki University. All rights reserved.

containing no significant amounts of radionuclides otherthan naturally occurring radionuclides1), and covers allradionuclides of natural origin, primordial radionuclides
and others in trace amounts. In the majority of situations,the concentrations of NORM are not sufficiently elevatedto pose a radiological hazard and the material is nottreated as being radioactive for purposes of radiologicalprotection.
In most natural substances, the concentrations ofradionuclides in NORM are low. However, higher
concentrations may arise as the result of humanactivities. For example, at the extraction stage ofEarth materials, naturally occurring radionuclides canbecome concentrated in primary raw materials, theextracted products, the generated residues and the waste

112

Jing Chen / Radiation Environment and Medicine 2023 Vol.12, No.2 111–120

Table 1. NAICS codes for industries involving NORM considered in this study.
NAICS
211110211141211142212114212115212116212210212220212231212232212233212291212299212314212315212316212317212323212326212392212393212395212396212398221112221113221310Industry
Oil and gas extraction (except oil sands)
In-situ oil sands extraction
Mined oil sands extraction
Bituminous coal mining
Subbituminous coal mining
Lignite coal mining
Iron ore mining
Gold and silver ore mining
Lead-zinc ore mining
Nickel-copper ore mining
Copper-zinc ore mining
Uranium ore mining
All other metal ore mining
Granite mining and quarrying
Limestone mining and quarrying
Marble mining and quarrying
Sandstone mining and quarrying
Sand and gravel mining and quarrying
Shale, clay and refractory mineral mining and quarrying
Diamond mining
Salt mining
Gypsum mining
Potash mining
All other non-metallic mineral mining and quarrying
Fossil-fuel electric power generation
Nuclear electric power generation
Water supply and irrigation systems

NAICS
324110324121324122324190327120327214327310327320327330327390327410327420327910327990331110331210331221331222331313331317331410331420331490331511331514331523331529produced2-6). The processing of raw materials by many
resource-based industries may increase the concentrationof radioactive substances in those materials, to levels
at which special precautions are needed for handling,storing, transporting, and disposal of material, byproducts, end-products or process equipment.
Exposures resulting from industrial activities involving
NORM are controllable 6). For public exposure, theapproach is to control discharges and wastes, if necessary,
after radiological characterization of the situation.
Therefore, it is of public interest to know the natureand magnitude of the releases from various industrial
activities involving NORM. However, this type of data is
scarce in Canada. To fill the data gap, this study reviews
and summarises detailed information on the releases frommajor industries involving NORM in Canada.
2. Methods and materials
Based on the Canadian Guidelines for the Management of
NORM7), the following industries are considered as having
the potential to hold, produce, and/or release NORM in
amounts sufficient to cause significant radiation doses
to workers and radiological burdens to the environment.
They are mineral extraction and processing (NORM may
be released or concentrated in a process stream during
the processing of ore), oil and gas production (NORM

Industry
Petroleum refineries
Asphalt paving mixture and block manufacturing
Asphalt shingle and coating material manufacturing
Other petroleum and coal product manufacturing
Clay building material and refractory manufacturing
Glass manufacturing
Cement manufacturing
Ready-mix concrete manufacturing
Concrete pipe, brick and block manufacturing
Other concrete product manufacturing
Lime manufacturing
Gypsum product manufacturing
Abrasive product manufacturing
All other non-metallic mineral product manufacturing
Iron and steel mills and ferro-alloy manufacturing
Iron and steel pipes and tubes manufacturing from purchased steel
Cold-rolled steel shape manufacturing
Steel wire drawing
Primary production of alumina and aluminum
Aluminum rolling, drawing, extruding and alloying
Non-ferrous metal (except aluminum) smelting and refining
Copper rolling, drawing, extruding and alloying
Non-ferrous metal (except copper and aluminum) rolling, drawing, extruding and alloying
Iron foundries
Steel foundries
Non-ferrous metal die-casting foundries
Non-ferrous metal foundries (except die-casting)

may be found in the liquids and gases from hydrocarbonbearing geological formations), thermal-electric
production (mineral ashes left from combustion may
concentrate small amounts of NORM present naturally incoal) and water treatment facilities (fresh or waste water
is treated through sorptive media or ion-exchange resins
to remove minerals and other impurities from the water
being treated). Industries involving NORM considered inthis study are given in Table 1. Classification of industries
is given by the North American Industry Classification
System (NAICS)8).
Releases from all industries in Canada are required tobe reported in the National Pollutant Release Inventory(NPRI)9). The NPRI is Canada's public inventory ofpollutant releases (to air, water and land), disposals andtransfers for recycling. Facility-reported raw data are
available online at Government of Canadaʼs Open Data
website. Annual data files (1993 to 2020) contain facilityreported data listed by facility and substance for a given
year10).
The substances listed on the NPRI are organized into
five parts, each having different reporting requirements
for a total of 323 substances11). Part 1A is referred to as“core substances”, this group makes up the majority of
substances on the NPRI list and most have been on it
since the start of the NPRI. Substances in Part 1B arereferred to as “alternate threshold substances” and haveJing Chen / Radiation Environment and Medicine 2023 Vol.12, No.2 111–120

113

Table 2. Substances identified from NPRI-list which potentially contain naturally occurring radionuclides.
Substance
Cadmium (and its compounds)
Lead (and its compounds)
Selenium (and its compounds)
Thallium (and its compounds)
Thorium dioxide
Total Particulate Matter*

NPRI Part #Part 1B
Part 1B
Part 1B
Part 1B
Part 1A
Part 4

Reporting threshold
5 kg MPO
50 kg MPO
100 kg MPO
100 kg MPO
10 tonnes MPO
20 tones release* Filterable particulate matter, on a dry basis. Excludes condensable particulate matter. Particulate matter with a diameter less than 100
micrometres.
Note: MPO “Manufactured, processed or otherwise used” refers to the amount of the substance produced, prepared or used in any otherway at a facility.

Table 3. Five-year (2015-2019) average annual total releases by substances in Canada.
Substance
Cadmium (and its compounds)

Release to air
No. reporting
Annual releasefacilities(tonnes)316
6.325

Release to water
No. reporting
Annual releasefacilities(tonnes)166
2.610

Release to land
No. reporting
Annual releasefacilities(tonnes)110.1494

Lead (and its compounds)

434

126.3

206

9.577

49

96.69

Selenium (and its compounds)

235

14.69

107

18.47

5.0

0.1016

Thallium (and its compounds)

34

0.4713

21

1.897

1.4

0.0175

Thorium dioxide

-

-

-

-

-

-

3287

392538----

Total Particulate Mattera lower reporting threshold than Part 1A substances.
They may have significant environmental or humanhealth impacts in small amounts. Substances in Part 2
are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that may be used
as commercial chemicals, incidentally manufactured
in certain industrial processes, or contained in tailings.
Substances in Part 3 are polychlorinated dibenzo-pdioxins (dioxins), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (furans)
and hexachlorobenzene that are released as by-products
of industrial and combustion processes. Part 4 is for
substances known as criteria air contaminants, commonly
released from combustion sources that can cause orcontribute to air issues such as smog and acid rain. Part
5 is for volatile organic compounds which are subject toadditional reporting requirements.
For the need of radiation protection in workplaces
involving minerals and raw materials, the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) provided guidanceon activity concentrations below which it is usually
unnecessary to regulate3):(a) 1 Bq / g f or u r a n i um a nd t hor i um ser ies
radionuclides;(b) 10 Bq/g for 40K.
The IAEA also provided detailed list of materials released
from industries involving NORM to be assessed forpossible regulatory control3). The radionuclide activity
concentrations to be determined are(a) Uranium series: 238U, 226Ra, 210Pb and 210Po;(b) Thorium series: 232Th, 228Ra and 228Th.
Unfortunately, the NPRI does not collect any information

about the above listed key radionuclides from uranium
and thorium series of radiological health concerns.
Even though NPRI list of pollutant substances does
not specifically contain radioactive substances andthere is no list of substances that are considered mostimportant in terms of NORM (such as a process stream
contaminated with radium isotopes), trace amounts ofnaturally occurring radionuclides and their compounds
can be present in some releases from industrial activities
involving NORM, especially the large quantity of total
particulate matter (< 100 μm) released to air that havehigh potential containing harmful radionuclides fromuranium and thorium series 3-6). From the long list of
substances, the following are identified which may
contain naturally occurring radionuclides, as given in
Table 2.
According to the convention of five-year periods for
exposure evaluation implemented by the United Nations
Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation
Global Survey (survey.unscear.org), this study reviews
detailed release data by substances that may be ofradiological interest for the same period (2015-2019).
3. Results and discussion
From the NPRI website (https://www.canada.ca/en/
environment-climate-change/services/national-pollutantrelease-inventory/tools-resources-data/exploredata.html),
facility-reported raw release data by substances were
downloaded for five years (2015-2019). Sorted by the six-114

Jing Chen / Radiation Environment and Medicine 2023 Vol.12, No.2 111–120

Table 4. Summary of detailed release information for oil and gas industry in 2019.
NAICS
Substance Name (unit)
Cadmium (and its compounds) (kg)Lead (and its compounds) (kg)Selenium (and its compounds) (kg)Thallium (and its compounds) (kg)

Total particulate matter (tonnes)
Range of total particulate matter

Release to
air
water
land
air
water
land
air
water
land
air
water
land
air

211110
NRF
2
1
1
2
2263

211141NRF
5
24

Release
3.821
0.007
1.901
4.251
4055
(0, 458)

Release85.15
586(1.7, 96)211142
NRF
6
4
7
5
1
4
5
2
1
1
1
8

Release
77.14
1.289
176.6
3.974
0.008
143.5
76.48
0.023
0.000037
0.948
1.525
13084
(3.7, 8610)

2111
Total NRF Total release
13
166.1
5
1.296
8
178.5
5
4.0
1
0.008
6
147.8
5
76.5
2
0.023
1
0.000
1
0.948
1
1.525
2295
17725

2111: Oil and gas extraction; 211110: Oil and gas extraction (except oil sands); 211141: In-situ oil sands extraction; 211142: Mined oil sands extraction

Table 5. Summary of detailed release information for coal mining (NAICS 2121) in 2019.

NAICS
Substance Name (unit)
Release to
Cadmium (and its compounds) (kg)
air
water
land
Lead (and its compounds) (kg)
air
water
land
Selenium (and its compounds) (kg)
air
water
land
Thallium (and its compounds) (kg)
air
water
land
Total particulate matter (tonnes)
airRange of total particulate matter

212114
NRF
8
8
9
8
3
2
3
2
11

Release
2.950
39.48
22.37
19.82
1.380
1.67
1.381
1.665
106470(4, 39972)

212115NRF
5Release6047(7, 5967)

212116NRF
3

Release389(30, 308)

2121
Total NRF Total release
8
2.950
8
39.481922.370819.820
3
1.380
2
1.670
3
1.381
2
1.665
19
112906212114: Bituminous coal mining; 212115: Subbituminous coal mining; 212116: Lignite coal mining.

digits NAICS code, the 5-year average total releases forthe identified substances listed in Table 2 are summarisedin Table 3. Releases to air include stack emissions,storage/handling, fugitive emissions, spills and others.
Releases to water include direct discharge, spills, andleaks. Releases to land include spills, leaks and others.
There was no report for releases of thorium dioxidefrom 2015 to 2019. Most of the identified substanceswere released to the air, dominated by total particulatematter ( <100 μm) for which the chemical and radiologicalcharacteristics are unknown. Among the substances
containing naturally occurring radionuclides, lead and its
compounds were the most reported and released. A totalof 689 facilities reported above threshold releases of leadand its compounds, 126 tonnes to the air, 97 tonnes to land
and about 10 tonnes to water system.
Table 3 provides total annual releases by substances
potentially containing naturally occurring radioactive

materials in Canada. At this time, information is notavailable to consider radioactive and non-radioactive
materials separately. However, it is of interest to know theamounts of these substances released by major industries
involving NORM. This detailed analysis was conducted
for year 2019. The NPRI data file of 2019 contained atotal of 57841 reporting entries from various industries
in Canada. Even though there are reporting thresholds
for various substances, a significant number of facilities
reported data for releases below the reporting thresholdvalues. The data file can be sorted by 4-digit and 6-digit
NAICS codes as given in Table 1 and for selected
substances individually. Results of the analyses for majorindustries involving NORM in Canada are summarised in
the tables below.
Table 4 summarises detailed release information foroil and gas extraction industry where NRF stands fornumber of reporting facilities. For the four substances

Jing Chen / Radiation Environment and Medicine 2023 Vol.12, No.2 111–120

115

Table 6. Summary of releases from metal mining industries (NAICS 2122) in 2019.
NAICS

2122102122202122312122322122332122912122992122

Substance Name Release to NRF(unit)

ReleaseNRF

ReleaseNRF

ReleaseNRF

ReleaseNRF

ReleaseNRF

ReleaseNRF

Release Total NRF

Cadmium (andits compounds)
(kg)

7
4

54.21
6.57

11.76
0.062

13
9

7.837
8.219

6
9

70.69
60.02

1
3

0.019
0.0412

1
3

0.008
1.263

3081
24.79

2
2

3677.0
52.3

14
9

272.9
43.42

0.039
2.17

2
3

22.766
4.794

241.3
0.005

16
9

144.9
1499

2

38.34

1
3

0.192
219.360

2
1

183.7
0

442.4
53.73
0.291
149.1
2391
0.000536.744
0.893

2
4

4
1

1

0.0269

1

2.074

11

12962

4.524
13.03
17.94
458.4
67.71
2215
10.25
419.3
173.9
3.655
14.13
24.72
3799

1
1

7
6

24
24
1
27
31
2
14
18
1
11
12
1
35

17231

4

241

7

462

L ead ( a nd i t scompounds) (kg)Selenium (and its
compounds) (kg)Thallium (and its
compounds) (kg)
Total particulatematter (tonnes)
Range of total
particulate matter

air
water
land
air
water
land
air
water
land
air
water
land
air

(10.26, 9802)(0.008, 2221)

1
10.0001
0.044

4
2

7.859
3

7
12
1
7
10
1
2
3

2

102

15

856

9

(39.48, 62.95)(0, 240.5)(0.67, 9111)(18.14, 140.3)

53
53
1
61
67
3
42
43
2
21
20
1
83

Total
release
149.1
89.21
17.94
7954
248.9
2215
545.7
4568
173.9
231.9
20.14
24.72
35653

(1.23, 374.9)

212210: Iron ore mining; 212220: Gold and silver ore mining; 212231: Lead-zinc ore mining; 212232: Nickel-copper ore mining; 212233: Copper-zinc ore mining; 212291: Uranium ore mining; 212299: All other metal ore
mining.

known to potentially have naturally occurring radioactive
isotopes, from the most to the least, the total amounts
released to the environment in 2019 are 224.3 kg of
selenium and its compounds, 182.5 kg of lead and its
compounds, 167.4 kg of cadmium and its compounds, and2.5 kg of thallium and its compounds. The majority of thesubstances are released to air during oil sands extraction.
Table 5 provides detailed release information forcoal mining industry. The total amounts released to theenvironment in 2019 are 42 kg for cadmium, lead andtheir compounds, and 3 kg for selenium, thallium andtheir compounds. More substances are released to water
than to air in bituminous coal mining. In subbituminousand lignite coal mining, there was only releases of total
particulate matter ( <100 μm). Even for the release of total
particulate matter, bituminous coal mining dominates therelease amount.
Table 6 summarises detailed release information forvarious metal mining. In metal mining, most releases tothe environment are lead and its compounds with a totalof 10,419 kg (dominated by releases to air from iron ore
mining and lead-zinc ore mining), followed by selenium
and its compounds of 5287 kg (dominated by releases towater from nickel-copper ore mining and copper-zinc ore
mining).
Detailed release information from non-metal mining
industries is provided in Table 7. The release is mainly
lead and its compounds from diamond mining. All othernon-metal mining has no or below-threshold releases tothe environment except the total particulate matter. The
release of total particulate matter is mainly from potashmining and limestone mining and quarrying.
Detailed release information from fossil-fuel electric

power generation is given in Table 8. Major releases arelead and its compounds, followed by selenium and its
compounds, cadmium and its compounds and thallium
and its compounds. There are large amounts of total
particulate matter released from fossil-fuel electric power
generation. For comparison purpose, Table 8 also includes
reported release information from hydro-electric power
generation and nuclear electric power generation, bothof which produce only negligible quantities of particulatematter compared to fossil fuel electric power generation.
Releases from petroleum and coal product manufacturing
were summarised in Table 9. Substances potentiallycontaining naturally occurring radionuclides and theircompounds were released from petroleum refineries.
Other petroleum and coal product manufacturing activities
only reported to release total particulate matter with noradiological characterization. About 84% of total particulatematter was released from petroleum refineries.
Table 10 summarises releases from non-metallic
product manufacturing. Almost all releases except total
particulate matter are from cement manufacturing(dominated by lead and its compounds). Cement andlime manufacturing released significant amounts of total
particulate matter, as did many other non-metallic mineralproduct manufacturing.
For metal product manufacturing, major releases werefrom iron and steel mills and ferro-alloy manufacturing(NAICS 331110) and non-ferrous metal (except aluminum)
smelting and refining (NAICS 331410), as shown in
Table 11. Most substances released are lead and its
compounds of 96.1 tonnes, followed by selenium and its
compounds of 10.4 tonnes. A total of 13.9 tonnes of total
particulate matter were released to air by metal product116

Jing Chen / Radiation Environment and Medicine 2023 Vol.12, No.2 111–120

Table 7. Summary of releases from non-metallic mineral mining industries (NAICS 2123) in 2019.
NAICS
Substance Name Release to(unit)
Cadmium (andairits compounds)
water
(kg)
land
L ead ( a nd i t s
aircompounds) (kg)
water
land
Selenium (and its
aircompounds) (kg)
water
land
Thallium (and its
aircompounds) (kg)
water
land
Total particulate
airmatter (tonnes)
Range of total
particulate matter

212314
NRF

212315
Release212316

NRF

Release

NRF

212317
Release

NRF

1
1

5

86.75

34.00

2163

(1.858, 30.93)

1212323
Release212326

NRF

Release

0.031
1.411

16.97

32

740

(1.698, 368.9)

NRF

Release

1

0.011

1

0.405

2

79.0

(2.479, 81.78)(7.748, 71.203)

ReleaseTotal NRF Total release

Table 7. continue
NAICS
Substance Name
(unit)
Cadmium (andits compounds)(kg)
L ead ( a nd i t scompounds) (kg)Selenium (and its
compounds) (kg)Thallium (and its
compounds) (kg)
Total particulatematter (tonnes)
Range of total
particulate matter

21239221239342

3.264
0.0361

5
2

3.274
0.036

4
2

46.14
0.0817

6
3

46.57
1.493

4
2

0.7591
1.569

4
2

0.759
1.569

1

0.0013

1

0.001

6

691

107

10726

3.0

(15.03, 202.1)

Release25.4(3.859, 15.67)

NRF

Release13.0

6422(2.593, 1073)

NRF

2123

air
water
land
air
water
land
air
water
land
air
water
land
air

427.2

NRF

212398

Release5

Release212396NRF(0.74, 392.2)

NRF

212395

Release to6

74.5(0.795, 24.17)

212314: Granite mining and quarrying; 212315: Limestone mining and quarrying; 212316: Marble mining and quarrying; 212317: Sandstone mining and quarrying; 212323: Sand and gravel mining and quarrying;212326: Shale, clay and refractory mineral mining and quarrying; 212392: Diamond mining; 212393; Salt mining; 212395: Gypsum mining; 212396: Potash mining; 212398: All other non-metallic mineral mining andquarrying.

manufacturing.
The above information is summarised in Table 12 bysectors of industries involving NORM. In order to know
how much industries involving NORM contributed to theoverall releases to the environment, total releases fromall industries reported to the NPRI are also summarisedin Table 12 under “All NAICS”. The last column of Table
12 calculates the percentage of releases from identified
industries involving NORM to the total releases fromall industries combined. The pathway where industries
involving NORM play the biggest role is releases to air,where contributions (as a percentage of the total for allindustries) are 100% for thallium and its compounds, 97%
for lead and its compounds, 95% for cadmium and its
compounds, 91% for selenium and its compounds, and 86%
for total particulate matter (< 100 μm). Even though thetotal particulate matter is not characterised radiologically,
it contributes to air pollution.
4. Conclusions
Activities involved with naturally occurring radioactive
material cover broad industrial sectors with diverse
characteristics. Releases from industries involving
NORM are often produced in large amounts, but not
well characterised radiologically. The review describes
the nature and magnitude of releases in Canada withdetailed analysis for 2019. From a total of 323 substances
required for reporting to the National Pollutant Release
Inventory11), four substances were identified as potentiallycontaining naturally occurring radionuclides in varying
concentrations. In 2019, most of these substances wereJing Chen / Radiation Environment and Medicine 2023 Vol.12, No.2 111–120

117

Table 8. Summary of releases from electric power generation industries in 2019
NAICS
Substance Name (unit)
Cadmium (and its compounds)(kg)
Lead (and its compounds) (kg)Selenium (and its compounds)(kg)
Thallium (and its compounds)(kg)
Total particulate matter (tonnes)
Range of total particulate matter

221111
NRF

Release to
air
water
land
air
water
land
air
water
land
air
water
land
air

Release2

221112NRF
16
6

Release
103.5
1.732

17
8

1370
11.02

10
5

0.088
(0.005, 0.083)

221113
NRF

Release2211
Total NRF
16
6

Total release
103.5
1.732

1

8.8

642.8
15.59

18
8
1
10
5

1379
11.02
120.9
642.8
15.59

1

120.9

6
3

26.05
0.573

6
3

26.05
0.573

35

13237
(0.3899, 5902)

37

13237
(0.005, 5902)

221111: Hydro-electric power generation; 221112: Fossil-fuel electric power generation; 221113: Nuclear electric power generation.

Table 9. Summary of releases from petroleum and coal product manufacturing (NAICS 3241) in 2019.
NAICS
Substance Name (unit)
Cadmium (and its compounds) (kg)Lead (and its compounds) (kg)Selenium (and its compounds) (kg)Thallium (and its compounds) (kg)

Total particulate matter (tonnes)
Range of total particulate matter

Release to
air
water
land
air
water
land
air
water
land
air
water
land
air

324110
NRF
12
4

Release
68.75
14.60

324121
NRF

10
5

241.2
210.6

10
5

241.2
210.6

5
3
1

58.80
79.99
24.30

5
3
1

58.80
79.99
24.30

15

3487
(0.89, 765.8)

42

4153
(0.007, 765.8)20324122
NRF

Release188.6(0.007, 73.34)

5Release324190NRF

111.9(2.81, 43.36)

2

Release3241
Total NRF Total release
12
68.75
4
14.60

365.2
(45.05, 320.2)

324110: Petroleum refineries; 324121: Asphalt paving mixture and block manufacturing; 324122: Asphalt shingle and coating material manufacturing; 324190: Other petroleum and coal product manufacturing.

Table 10. Summary of releases from non-metallic product manufacturing (NAICS 327) in 2019.
NAICS
327120Substance Name (unit)
Release to NRF
Cadmium (and its compounds) (kg)
air
water
land
Lead (and its compounds) (kg)
air
water
land
Selenium (and its compounds) (kg)
air
water
land
Thallium (and its compounds) (kg)
air
water
land
Total particulate matter (tonnes)
air1
Range of total particulate matter

Release327214
NRF

2

38.90

3

Release

0.022

163.7
(38.05, 64.80)

327310
NRF
4

Release
1.77

7

384.9

7

65.76

1

11.76

15

2648
(33.0, 456.2)

327320
NRF

18

Release13.53(0.023, 4.147)

327330
NRF

2

Release1.35(0.063, 1.284)

327390
NRF

Release1

0.0196

118

Jing Chen / Radiation Environment and Medicine 2023 Vol.12, No.2 111–120

Table 10. Continue
NAICS
Substance Name (unit)
Cadmium (and its compounds) (kg)Lead (and its compounds) (kg)Selenium (and its compounds) (kg)Thallium (and its compounds) (kg)

Total particulate matter (tonnes)
Range of total particulate matter

Release to
air
water
land
air
water
land
air
water
land
air
water
land
air

327410
NRF

Release1

4.21

327420
NRF

Release327910
NRF

Release327990
NRF

1

9

1819
(30.32, 504.3)

5

71.58
(0.023, 44.69)

2

44.34
(3.44, 40.9)

11

327
Total NRF Total release
4
1.766

Release

0.017

337.5
(4.42, 83.23)

8

389.1

10

65.80

1

11.76

67

5138
(0.023, 504.3)

327120: Clay building material and refractory manufacturing; 327214: Glass manufacturing; 327310: Cement manufacturing; 327320: Ready-mix concrete manufacturing; 327330: Concrete pipe, brick and block
manufacturing; 327390: Other concrete product manufacturing; 327410; Lime manufacturing; 327420: Gypsum product manufacturing; 327910: Abrasive product manufacturing; 327990: All other non-metallic
mineral product manufacturing.

Table 11. Summary of releases from metal product manufacturing (NAICS 331) in 2019.
NAICS
331110331210331221331222331313331317331410Substance Name (unit)
Release to NRF
ReleaseNRF
ReleaseNRF Release NRF
ReleaseNRF
ReleaseNRF
ReleaseNRF
Release
air
11
168.6
11
3926
Cadmium (and its compounds)
(kg)
water
5
35.21
7
311.9
land
1
0.0033
Lead (and its compounds) (kg)
air
13
4880
2
0.182
3
359.6
2
1.116
12
85605
water
9
809.1
3
179.5
8
1137
land
1
0.3806
Selenium (and its compounds)
air
6
36.49
7
8058
(kg)
water
3
13.55
5
2287
land
Thallium (and its compounds)
air
1
0.7368
3
338.8
(kg)
water
2
1150.8land
10.0072T ot a l pa r t ic ula t e ma t t er
air
14
6177
4
15.67
2
77.47
13
5257
3
137.1
11
2003
(tonnes)
Range of total particulate(24.28, 1815)(0.2391, 10.31)(21.9, 55.57)(3.301, 2055)(9.8, 76.19)(9.552, 1094)
matterTable 11 Continue
NAICS
331420331490331511331514331523
Substance Name (unit)
Release to NRF Release NRF Release NRF
ReleaseNRF
ReleaseNRF
Cadmium (and its compounds)
air
2
0.163
2
0.973
2
365.1
(kg)
water
land
Lead (and its compounds) (kg)
air
4
85.60
6
121.3
3
1213
1
water
land
Selenium (and its compounds)
air
1
0.441
1
0
1
0.159
(kg)
water
1
10.9
land
Thallium (and its compounds)
air
(kg)
water
land
T ot a l pa r t ic ula t e ma t t er
air
4
99.5
4
84.24
1
(tonnes)
Range of total particulate(0.928, 64.97)(10.87, 25.91)
matterRelease

3.84

0.021

331529
NRF

7
1
1
1

1

331
Release Total NRFTotal release
28
4461
12
347.1
1
0.003
1697
53
93967
15.1
21
2141
0.5
2
0.881
2
17
8097
9
2312

15

4
2
1
57

339.5
1151
0.007
13866
(0.24, 2055)

331110: Iron and steel mills and ferro-alloy manufacturing; 331210: Iron and steel pipes and tubes manufacturing from purchased steel; 331221: Cold-rolled steel shape manufacturing; 331222: Steel wire drawing;
331313: Primary production of alumina and aluminum; 331317: Aluminum rolling, drawing, extruding and alloying; 331410: Non-ferrous metal (except aluminum) smelting and refining; 331420: Copper rolling,drawing, extruding and alloying; 331490: Non-ferrous metal (except copper and aluminum) rolling, drawing, extruding and alloying; 331511: Iron foundries; 331514: Steel foundries; 331523: Non-ferrous metal diecasting foundries; 331529; Non-ferrous metal foundries (except die-casting).

Jing Chen / Radiation Environment and Medicine 2023 Vol.12, No.2 111–120

119

Table 12. Summary of releases from sectors involving NORM in comparison with releases from all industries reported to NPRI in 2019.
NAICS
Substance Name (unit)
Cadmium (and its compounds) (kg)Lead (and its compounds) (kg)Selenium (and its compounds) (kg)Thallium (and its compounds) (kg)

Total particulate matter (tonnes)

Release to
air
water
land
air
water
land
air
water
land
air
water
land
air

All NAICS
NRF
263
170
8
375
212
55
196
111
7
36
30
3
3388

Release
5216
2936
108.4
1072659579
120374
10500
18047
198.2
610.6
1174
26.26
249414

2111
NRF
13
5

Release
166.1
1.296

8
5
1
6
5
2
1
1
1
2295

178.5
3.974
0.008
147.8
76.48
0.023
0.000
0.948
1.525
17725

2121
NRF
8
8

Release
2.950
39.48

9
8

22.37
19.82

3
2

1.380
1.670

3
2

1.381
1.665

19

112906

2122
NRF
53
53
1
61
67
3
42
43
2
21
20
1
83

331
NRF
28
12
1
53
21
2
17
9

Release
4461
347.1
0.003
93967
2141
0.881
8097
2312

4
2
1
57

339.5
1151
0.007
13866

2211
NRF
16
6

Release
103.5
1.732

18
8
1
10
5

1379
11.02
120.9
642.8
15.59

0.001

6
3

26.05
0.573

107

10726

37

13237

All NORMs
NRF
139
90
2
173
117
7
97
69
5
37
28
3
2707

Release
4956
493.5
17.94
104178
2636
2337
9560
7054
198.2
610.6
1174
26.26
213404%
NORMs/All
95%
17%
17%
97%
28%
2%
91%
39%
100%
100%
100%
100%
86%

Release
149.1
89.21
17.94
7954
248.9
2215
545.7
4568
173.9
231.9
20.14
24.72
35653

2123
NRF
5
2

Release
3.274
0.036

6
3

46.57
1.493

4
2

0.759
1.569

1

Table 12. Continue.
NAICS
Substance Name (unit)
Cadmium (and its compounds) (kg)

327
NRF
4

Release
1.766

241.2
210.6

8

389.1

58.80
79.99
24.30

10

65.80

1

11.76

67

5138

released to air: 104 tonnes of lead and its compounds,
9.56 tonnes of selenium and its compounds, 4.96 tonnesof cadmium and its compounds, and 0.61 tonnes ofthallium and its compounds. While total particulatematter (< 100 μm) is not characterised radiologically, it
clearly contributes to air pollution and may contain trace
amounts of radionuclides of natural origin, with industries
involving NORM contributing 86% of the total releases
from all industries combined. Even though this review
cannot draw conclusions about the radiological aspectsof the releases described here, it is the first step towards
better characterizing public radiation exposure to releases
potentially containing naturally occurring radioactive
material from industries involving NORM in Canada.

3.

International Atomic Energy Agency. Assessing the Need for
Radiation Protection Measures in Work Involving Minerals and
Raw Minerals. Safety Reports Series No.49. Vienna: IAEA; 2006.

4.

International Atomic Energy Agency. Radiation Protection and
NORM Residue Management in the Production of Rare Earths
from Thorium Containing Minerals. Safety Reports Series No.68.
Vienna: IAEA; 2011.

5.

International Atomic Energy Agency. Exposure of the Public from
Large Deposits of Mineral Residues. IAEA-TECDOC-1660. Vienna:
IAEA; 2011.

6.

International Commission on Radiological Protection. Radiologicalprotection from naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM)
in industrial processes. ICRP Publication 142. Ann ICRP 48(4),Toronto: Saga Publication; 2019.

7.

Health Canada. [Internet] Canadian Guidelines for the Managementof Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) [cited 2021
Nov. 9] 2013. Available from: https://www.canada.ca/content/
dam/hc-sc/migration/hc-sc/ewh-semt/alt_formats/pdf/pubs/
contaminants/norm-mrn/norm-mrn-eng.pdf.

8.

Statistics Canada. [Internet] North American Industry Classification
System (NAICS) Canada 2017 Version 3.0 (NAICS) [cited 2021
Nov. 9] 2021. Available from: https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/
p3VD.pl?Function=getVD&TVD=1181553.

9.

Government of Canada. National Pollutant Release Inventory.
2022. Available from: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/
environment/pollution-waste-management/national-pollutant-Lead (and its compounds) (kg)Selenium (and its compounds) (kg)Thallium (and its compounds) (kg)

Total particulate matter (tonnes)

Release to
air
water
land
air
water
land
air
water
land
air
water
land
air

3241
NRF
12
4

Release
68.75
14.60

10
5
5
3
1

42

4153

References
1.

International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA Safety Glossary, 2018
Edition. Vienna: IAEA; 2019. Available from: https://www-pub.
iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/PUB1830_web.pdf.

2.

International Atomic Energy Agency. Radiation Protection and
the Management of Radioactive Waste in the oil and Gas Industry.
Safety Report Series No.34. Vienna: IAEA; 2003.

120

Jing Chen / Radiation Environment and Medicine 2023 Vol.12, No.2 111–120
release-inventory.html.

10.

Government of Canada. Single year data tables by facility –releases, transfers and disposals. 2022. Available from: https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/1fb7d8d4-7713-4ec6-b9574a882a84fed3.

11.

Government of Canada. Substance list: National Pollutant Release
Inventory. 2021. Available from: https://www.canada.ca/en/
environment-climate-change/services/national-pollutant-releaseinventory/substances-list/threshold.html.