Activity Report of TENORM Task Group

9. Report on Recent Status of TENORM in Thailand
9.1

Introduction

NORM is the acronym for “Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials “as defined by
IAEA safety division1) means “ material containing no significant of radionuclides other thannaturally occurring radionuclides”. IAEA definition on NORM also included the materials of
which the activity concentration of the naturally occurring radionuclides have been changed
by man-made processes which sometimes called technologically enhanced NORM or
TENORM. The term NORM then sometimes is used in contrast with TENORM i.e. to refer
only materials in which the activity concentrations have not been technologically enhanced.
Naturally occurring radionuclides means radionuclides that occur naturally significant
on earth. These include the primordial radionuclides i.e. 235U, 238U, 232Th, and 40K. 3H and 14C
are also naturally occurring radionuclides because they can be produced by natural activation
process by cosmic ray.
Historically in most countries, the rules and regulations governing the handling andstorage of radioactive materials were intended to apply to the products of nuclear reactors. In
these devices, extremely high levels of radioactivity are found as the by-product of nuclear
fission. National governments have been hesitated to get involved in the regulation of thosematerials, which contain radioactivity encountered within the natural environment. On theother hand, the exposure of human beings to ionizing radiation from all sources is of great
concern to those authorities dealing with public health and workers.
As quoted in the 11th International Congress of the International Radiation Protection
Association in Madrid, Spain during May 23-28, 2004 2); pressed by a WHO Expert
committee by the end of the years fifties concerned about genetic effects that might beproduced in humans due to the use of ionizing radiation in medicine, science and technology.
It was expected that the study of human populations exposed to relatively large amount ofbackground radiation i.e. of the order of 10 mSv/y would bring untapped information onradiation induced mutation and their fate. The obvious population to be studied were thoseliving in high altitude areas, for example; Cerro Pasco, Peru ( 4.3 km,10oS lat.); Lhasa, Tibet( 3.7 km,10oN lat.); La Paz, Bolivia( 3.6 km,16oS Lat.); Quito, Ecuador( 2.9 km,0oLat.); andBogota, Columbia ( 2.6 km, 4oN lat.)
TENORM is now receiving more attention because of its potential to cause elevatedexposure to radiation. Thailand by Radioactive Waste Management Program (WMP) of the
Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP) concerns NORM and TENORM in order to increase theawareness of the public in Thailand to TENORM materials and to provide guidance orregulations to help the industries that generate this materials to manage and dispose of their
TENORM waste in economically and efficient ways to protect people and environment.
This report summarizes Thailand inventory of the TENORM, current regulations andthe country specific problems to be solved.

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Activity Report of TENORM Task Group

9.2

TENORM Inventory in Thailand

The locations and extents of the TENORM in Thailand have never been studied. Thisshould be one of national problems on controlling of TENORM. Since TENORM areproduced by many industries in various amounts in a wide variety of products, Table 1 showslist of industries in Thailand that probable to generate the TENORM, its capacity andestimated waste. Waste produced was estimated based on information from various reports
and data.

9.3

Regulation on TENORM

Thailand has no regulation directly control of NORM and TENORM. Thai Ministerial
Regulation No.5 B.E. 2516 (A.D. 1973) laid down basic safety standards for the protection ofworkers and general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation which intended
to apply to the products of nuclear reactors or artificial sources. However, the regulation was
also applied to natural occurring radioactive sources if the natural occurring radionuclide
materials would be processed in view of their radioactive properties. As such, according toarticle 2 of the ministerial regulation; any materials that contained uranium oxide (U3O8) or
thorium oxide (ThO2)/ or uranium oxide and thorium oxide at concentrated level more than
15% of the original ore element will be accounted as radioactive source materials. Therefore,
to deal with these materials, a practical guidance based on BSS No.115 3) must be applied.
In 2003, the Ministry of Science and Technology has issued two ministerial
regulations concerning radiation safety: Thai Ministerial Regulation on Conditions andMethods for License Application and Issuing B.E.2546 9) (A.D.2003) and Thai Ministerial
Regulation on Rules and Procedures of Radioactive Waste Management B.E.2546 10) (A.D.
2003). These two regulations also were originally intended to apply to the products of nuclear
reactors or artificial radioactive sources. The basis/concept of criteria/standard of theministerial regulations are as follows:
1) Recommended Dose Limit
The basis concept of the ministerial regulation 9) is the total integrated radiationdose to individuals from all sources must be minimized. The latest recommended dose
limits given in the ministerial regulation is summarized as follows:- 58 -

Activity Report of TENORM Task Group

Table 1

Industries Lead to Enhanced Occupational and Public Exposure to TENORM. 4,5)

Industrial Sector

Capacity

Estimated Waste
Volume．
．
．

Activity Concentrations Basis for Estimation( Bq/g)of Waste Volume

3.4 x 10 3 t/y13.3 and 2.07 226Rn forscales and sludge,
respectively.

Extrapolated from
USA data 6)

9,612 t/y

Not known

Report of H.C. Starck(Thailand) Co.,Ltd.7)

Not known

Rare earth

3,000 t/y for production;
30,000 t/y for smelter
300 t/y

16 t/y1.59-238U and
0.7-232Th 6)
Not known

Cement production

55 x 106 t/y

Not known

Not known

Steel refinery

6 x 106 t/y

Not known

Not known

Water treatment

Not known

Not known

Not known

Oil and gas exploration andproduction

Tantalum & Niobium
extraction
Tin production

61,994 bbl/d for crude
petroleum;
47,188 bbl/d forcondensate; and681,750 bbl/d for refineryof crude petroleum
250,000 t/y

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Report of Rare Earth
Research&
Development Center(OAP) 8)

Activity Report of TENORM Task Group

Table 1 ( cont): Industries Lead to Enhanced Occupational and Public Exposure to TENORM.4,5)
Industrial Sector

Capacity

Estimated Waste
VolumeActivity Concentrations( Bq/g)Basis for Estimationof Waste Volume

Coal

19.9 x 106 t/yfor production;
15.7 x 106 t/yfor coal fire power plant

1.49 x 106 t/y

0.14-226Ra

From USA data 6) :electricity boilers
generate ash about 10%of the original coal ofwhich 95% is retained;
Electricity Generating
Authority of Thailand
consumed 15.7 x 106
t/yChemical fertilizer

10,000 t/y phosphate rock;3.65 x 106 t/y production

Not known

0.41-1.3 226Ra
in phosphogypsum ;0.74-1.85 U & Th,
0.15-1.5 226Ra
in phosphate slag

USA data 6)

Not known

Not known

Residues from past activities Not known- 60 -

Activity Report of TENORM Task Group

Table 2 Recommended Dose Limits Given in the Ministerial Regulation 9)
Effective dose

Occupational
20 mSv/y ,averaged overdefined periods of 5 years

Public1 mSv/y2) Disposal and Transport
As specified in the regulation 9); material contained NORM above the following levelis designed as NORM-contaminated and must be restricted on disposal and transport.
Table 3 Limits for Safe Transport of Radioactive Material
NuclidesDiffuse NORM
(Bq/g)

Discrete NORM
( Bq.item/s)

226

Ra and progeny

1010,000222

Rn and progeny

1010,000,000

Pb and progeny

1010,000Ra and progeny

10100,000

Natural uranium

1

1,000

Natural thorium

1

1,000

210
228

Note: - Diffuse NORM means NORM contaminated material which is low in radioactive
concentration, uniformly dispersed and relatively large in volume.
- Discrete NORM means NORM contaminated material which has much higher
levels of radioactive concentration than the surrounding environment which can be
non-uniformly distributed as in the case of scrap pipe, for example.

3) Disposal
Disposed of NORM contaminated material either by land spread or discharge to bodies
of water must follow the regulation of management of radioactive waste 10)
Table 4 The Exempt Limit for Disposal of Radioactive Waste
Nuclides
226

Ra

232

Th

Aqueous( Bq/L)

Solid ( Bq/kg)

Air ( Bq/m3)

2

10,000

0.04

4

1,000

0.003

Note: - Activity discharged not more than 1,000,000 Bq/y
- Amount discharged not more than 3,000 kg/y
- Activity discharged not more than 100,000 and 10,000 Bq/y for 226Ra and 232Th, respectively.

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Activity Report of TENORM Task Group

9.4

Case Study Related to TENORM

During August 23-27, 2004, a task group from Japan visited Thailand. The group
included Prof. Toshiso Kosako (Japan Project Leader, Tokyo University), the group leader,and Japanese experts. Discussion/Survey meeting was held with a number of technical experts
and relevant personnel in Thailand including representatives from the Office of Atoms for
Peace (OAP), Chulalongkorn University, National Fertilizer Public Company (NFPC) , H.C.
Starck (Thailand) Co.Ltd., Petroleum Authority of Thailand(PTT), PTT Exploration and
Production Public Co.,Ltd., Unocal Thailand Ltd. and the Mineral Resources Department
followed up with a visit to the mineral dressing plant at G.M.T. Co.,Ltd, Phangna province,
the titanium separation plant ,H.C. Starck (Thailand) Co.,Ltd. and the phosphate fertilizer
production plant, the National fertilizer public company at Map Ta Phut Industrial Park in
Rayong province.
1) Technical Visit to the H.C. Starck (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
On August 26, 2004 the task group with Thai participants visited to the H.C. Starck(Thailand) Co. Ltd. The company is the one of the biggest producer in Thailand of high purity
tantalum metal powder as well as tantalum and niobium compound. The site visit provided an
insight into operational control issues relating to NORM. The standard guideline of the“Responsible Care Program” belongs to the German association of the Chemical Industry has
been practicing in the company The company has also received the certificates of OHSAS
18001-1999 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System), ISO 14001:1996(Environmental Management System) and the Occupational Heath and Safety Management
System Certification; RWTUV (Thailand) Ltd. Solid waste produced in 2002 and 2003 wasaround 7908 and 9617 tons, respectively. From 1992 to 2003, waste was disposed at HCST
landfill. After 2003 waste was disposed outside at authorized landfill. The radiation protection
program consists of monitoring of raw materials storage and radon grab sampling station.
Labeling, Survey and TLD measurements are required.

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Activity Report of TENORM Task Group2) Technical Visit to the National Fertilizer (Public) Company
In the afternoon of August 26, 2004 the group visited the National Fertilizer PublicCompany which also situates in the industrial park. The group was informed of the
management problem of large amount of the by-product phosphor-gypsum or “stacks”. The
stacks have been compiled since the operation of the company eight years ago. Any decision
on managing of these “stacks” could not be made due to the unclear policy on NORM and
TENORM of Thai government authority. The company has no inventory of the stacks. The
radioactivity of raw materials and the stacks is shown in Table 5.

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Activity Report of TENORM Task Group

Table 5

Radioactivity in Phosphate Rocks, Phosphor-gypsum and Natural Gypsum at
NFPC 11)

Type of samples

Radioactivity concentration ( Bq/g)

Sources

232

Th

238

U

226

Ra

40

K

Phosphate rock

South Africa

10

1360

685

50

Phosphate rockJordan

7

875

580

<15

Phosphate rock

Woof Thai Co.-Thailand

110

<180

65

1035

Phosphorgypsum

NFPC-Thailand

8

<140

310

<10

Natural Gypsum

Thailand

<1.7

<88

4

<5

9.5

Specific Problems to be Addressed
The major problems for controlling TENORM in Thailand are the followings:

1) Understanding of the Sources of TENORM
In the country, there is still no fully understanding of TENORM and all its potential
risks to humans and the environment. The study of TENORM-producing industry in the
country should be done to learn which aspects of the problem, what is in the waste formand how much risk they pose. There should be an individual report of each industry sincesome problems are unique to a given industry but some are common across all industries.
Each report may contains the main information i.e. generation of TENORM by industry;
content of the TENORM; ways that people could exposed to the TENORM from theindustry; and how the industry handles or disposes of TENORM waste.
2) Existing TENORM Sites
As mentioned before, the location and extent of existing TENORM sites have neverbeen characterized. This caused a nation-ambiguous idea of the problem- where the wastes
are; what is in them; and the risks they present. The study of existing TENORM sites in the
country will provide information needed to select methods for estimating risks and the mosteconomical ways to dispose of the TENORM.

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Activity Report of TENORM Task Group3) Lack of Guidance
Guidance for safely and economically controlling exposure to TENORM waste
should be provided. Guidance should contain a listing of various types of minerals and sites,
which might have associated TENORM radioactivity. It should also provide the advice forhealth and safety protection, as well as advice on how to conduct radiation site surveys,
field sampling, clean up and monitoring.
4) Information Distribution and Cooperation
Since in the country there is still lack of understanding about TENORM,
information should be developed and distributed through educational institutes, stateagencies, environmental groups, and industrial sectors that are confronting the problem of
TENORM. Cooperation or network among group associated with this problem should be
set up. These activities will help the public more understandable and to deal with thisproblem more efficiently.
5) Lack of Suitable and Correct Method on Sampling and Measurement of TENORM
Now Thailand has some knowledge to analyzed TENORM i.e. 222Rn, 226Ra, 228Ra,
232
Th and 238U and 235U but only in the laboratory. The experiences on sampling and fieldmeasurement are still lacked. All capability in these fields should be dbnveloped in the
country especially at OAP, which have sufficient input such as nuclear scientists andnuclear instruments.

9.6

Conclusions

In conclusion, controlling of exposure from NORM and TENORM is a new issue for
Thailand. Before issuing any regulation or guideline to regulate and/or advice any practice to
NORM and TENORM, this problem should be studied and made understandable to the public.
These could be done through the following approaches: understanding of the sources of
TENORM; locate and characterize the existing TENORM sites; formulate the guidance on
any practice on NORM and TENORM for health and safety protection; and develop anddistribute information and formulate cooperation and/or network among group of relevant
problem.
Currently, Thailand does not have any regulation for controlling radiation exposure
specifically from NORM and TENORM. However, this topic has now received attention frominternational and national organizations which work concerning the safety of radiation i.e.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the International Commission on RadiologicalProtection (ICRP), and the Environmental Protection Agency of USA (US. EPA). From thistrend of the world, Thailand is now studying this problem for the most suitable practice on
controlling of NORM and TENORM for the health and safety of its human beings and theenvironment.

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Activity Report of TENORM Task Group

References
1) International Atomic Energy Agency; IAEA Safety Glossary: Terminology used in
Nuclear, Radiation, Radioactive Waste and Transport Safety. Version 1.0: Working
material. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (2000).
2) A.S. Paschoa; Protection against natural radiation: Are the orphan sources a current
problem?. The 11th International Congress. International Radiation Protection Association
May 23-28, 2004. Madrid, Spain.
3) International Atomic Energy Agency; International Basic Safety Standards for Protection
Against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radioactive Sources”( 1996)
Co-sponsorship: FAO,ILO,OECD/NEA,PAHO,WHO:
Safety Series No.115.
International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (1996).
4) Q.Leepowpanth,D. Intarapravich and S. Rachsdawaong; Mineral resources development:
status of and issues in the mineral industry. TDRI Quarterly Review. 15(1), 16-18.
(available at http://www.info.tdri.or.th. Accessed August 4, 2004) (1990).
5) J.C.Wu; The mineral industry in Thailand (available at http://www.info.tdri.or.th.
Accessed August 4, 2004) (2001).
6) Industrial sectors with TENORM. (available at http://www.tenorm.com/sectors.htm
accessed August4,2004) (undated).
7) H.C.Starck( Thailand) Co.,Ltd.; private communication.
8) Rare Earth Research & Development Center, Office of Atoms for Peace; private
communication.
9) Thai Ministerial Regulation on Conditions and Methods for License Application andIssuing B.E. 2546. The Ministry of Science and Technology (2003). (in Thai).
10) Thai Ministerial Regulation on Rules and Procedures of Radioactive Waste Management
B.E.2546. The Ministry of Science and Technology (2003). (in Thai).
11) Radiation Measurement Division, Office of Atoms for Peace; private communication.

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