Source: https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=25&pt=1&ch=289&rl=253
Timestamp: 2020-02-23 05:44:27
Document Index: 479442159

Matched Legal Cases: ['§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289', '§289']

RULE §289.253 Radiation Safety Requirements for Well Logging Service Operations and Tracer Studies
(a) Purpose. This section establishes radiation safety requirements for persons using sources of radiation for well logging service operations, including radioactive markers, mineral exploration and tracer studies.
(b) Scope. This section applies to all persons who use sources of radiation for well logging service operations, radioactive markers, mineral exploration and tracer studies. In addition to the requirements of this section, persons are subject to the requirements of §289.201 of this title (relating to General Provisions for Radioactive Material), §289.202 of this title (relating to Standards for Protection Against Radiation from Radioactive Materials), §289.203 of this title (relating to Notices, Instructions, and Reports to Workers; Inspections), §289.204 of this title (relating to Fees for Certificates of Registration, Radioactive Material Licenses, Emergency Planning and Implementation, and Other Regulatory Services), §289.205 of this title (relating to Hearing and Enforcement Procedures), §289.226 of this title (relating to Registration of Radiation Machine Use and Services), §289.229 of this title (relating to Radiation Safety Requirements for Accelerators, Therapeutic Radiation Machines, Simulators, and Electronic Brachytherapy Devices), §289.231 of this title (relating to General Provisions and Standards for Protection Against Machine-Produced Radiation), §289.252 of this title (relating to Licensing of Radioactive Material), and §289.257 of this title (relating to Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Material).
(1) Energy compensation source (ECS)--A small sealed source with an activity not exceeding 100 microcuries (µCi) (3.7 megabecquerel (MBq)), used within a logging tool or other tool component, to provide a reference standard to maintain the tool's calibration when in use.
(2) Field station (additional authorized use/storage location)--A facility where sources of radiation may be stored or used and from which equipment is dispatched to temporary job sites.
(3) Injection tool--A device used for subsurface or downhole controlled injection of radioactive tracer material.
(4) Logging assistant (equipment operator)--Any individual who, under the personal supervision of a logging supervisor, handles sealed sources or tracers that are not in logging tools or shipping containers or who performs surveys required by subsection (bb) of this section.
(5) Logging supervisor (field engineer)--The individual who provides personal supervision of the use of sources of radiation at temporary job sites.
(6) Logging tool--A device used subsurface to perform well logging.
(7) Mineral logging--Any logging performed for the purpose of mineral exploration other than oil or gas.
(8) Personal supervision--Guidance and instruction by the supervisor, who is physically present at the job site and in such proximity that visual contact can be maintained and immediate assistance given as required.
(9) Radiation safety officer--An individual named by the licensee or registrant and listed on the license or certificate of registration who has a knowledge of, responsibility for, and authority to enforce appropriate radiation protection rules, standards, and practices on behalf of the licensee and/or registrant, and who meets the requirements of subsection (s) of this section.
(10) Radioactive marker--Radioactive material placed subsurface or upon a structure intended for subsurface use for the purpose of depth determination or direction orientation.
(11) Residential location--Any area where structures in which people lodge or live are located, and the grounds on which these structures are located including, but not limited to, houses, apartments, condominiums, and garages.
(12) Screenout--A situation in which radioactive tracer material is reversed out of an oil or gas well (well returns).
(13) Service company--Any contracted or subcontracted company that is present at the temporary job site, specifically, that company to which the licensee's equipment is connected and that is exposed to radioactive material.
(14) Source holder--A housing or assembly into which a radioactive source is placed for the purpose of facilitating the handling and use of the source.
(15) Storage container--A container designed to provide radiation safety and security when sources of radiation are being stored.
(16) Temporary job site--A location where well logging or tracer studies are performed other than the specific location(s) listed on a license or certificate of registration.
(17) Tracer study--The release of a substance tagged with radioactive material for the purpose of tracing the movement or position of the tagged substance in the wellbore, at the wellhead, or adjacent formation.
(18) Transport container--A container that meets the requirements of the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) and is designed to provide radiation safety and security when sources of radiation are being transported.
(19) Tritium neutron generator target source--A tritium source used within a neutron generator tube to produce neutrons for use in well logging applications.
(20) Uranium sinker bar--A weight containing depleted uranium used to aid in the descent of a logging tool down toward the bottom of a wellbore.
(21) Wellbore--A drilled hole in which wireline service operations are performed.
(22) Well logging--All operations involving the lowering and raising of measuring devices or logging tools (that may or may not contain sources of radiation) into wellbores or cavities for the purpose of obtaining information about the well and/or adjacent formations.
(23) Wireline--An armored steel cable, containing one or more electrical conductors, used to lower and raise logging tools in the wellbore.
(24) Wireline service operation--Any mechanical or electronic service that is performed in the wellbore using devices that are lowered into the well on a wireline for purposes of evaluation.
(d) Specific licenses for well logging.
(1) The applicant shall satisfy the general requirements specified in this subsection and in §289.252(e) of this title.
(2) The applicant shall develop a program for training logging supervisors and logging assistants and submit to the agency a description of this program which specifies the:
(D) means the applicant will use to demonstrate the logging supervisor's knowledge and understanding of and ability to comply with the agency's regulations and licensing requirements and the applicant's operating and emergency procedures; and
(E) means the applicant will use to demonstrate the logging assistant's knowledge and understanding of and ability to comply with the applicant's operating and emergency procedures.
(3) The applicant shall submit to the agency written operating and emergency procedures as described in subsection (ee)(4) of this section.
(4) The applicant shall establish and submit to the agency its program for annual inspections of the job performance of each logging supervisor to ensure that the agency's regulations, license requirements, and the applicant's operating and emergency procedures are followed. Inspection records must be retained for 3 years after each annual internal inspection.
(5) The applicant shall submit a description of its overall organizational structure as it applies to the radiation safety responsibilities in well logging, including specified delegations of authority and responsibility.
(6) If an applicant wants to perform leak testing of sealed sources, the applicant shall identify the manufacturers and the model numbers of the leak test kits to be used. If the applicant wants to analyze its own wipe samples, the applicant shall establish procedures to be followed and submit a description of these procedures to the agency. The description must include the:
(1) No licensee shall perform well logging service operations with a sealed source(s) in any well or wellbore unless, prior to commencement of the operation, the licensee has a written agreement with the well operator, well owner, drilling contractor, or land owner that specifies who will be responsible for ensuring the following requirements are met:
(A) a reasonable effort at recovery will be made in the event a sealed source is lost or lodged downhole;
(B) a person shall not attempt to recover a sealed source in a manner that, in the licensee's opinion, could result in a source rupture;
(C) in the event the environment, any equipment, or personnel are contaminated with radioactive material, decontamination to levels specified in §289.202(f), (n), and (eee) of this title shall be performed; and
(D) the requirements of subsection (dd)(4) of this section shall be met in the event a decision is made to abandon the sealed source downhole.
(2) No licensee shall perform tracer study operations with a substance tagged with radioactive material in any well or wellbore unless, prior to commencement of the operation, the licensee has a written agreement with the well operator, well owner, drilling contractor or land owner, and the service company to which the licensee's equipment is connected, as applicable, that specifies who will be responsible for ensuring the following requirements are met:
(A) in the event the service company's personnel or equipment are contaminated with radioactive material, they shall be decontaminated in accordance with §289.202(n) or (ddd) of this title before release from the job site or release for unrestricted use, respectively;
(B) in the event the well head or job site is contaminated with radioactive material, it shall be decontaminated in accordance with §289.202(ddd) of this title; and
(C) in the event radioactive material is to be reversed from the well or the well screens out, the licensee shall have established procedures and equipment or facilities to do the following:
(i) reverse material into a preconstructed steel or lined pit that is specifically established in the event of a screen out; or
(ii) reverse material into suitable transport container(s) in the event of a screen out.
(3) The licensee shall maintain, in accordance with subsection (ee)(5) of this section, a copy of the written agreement specified in paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection.
(f) Limits on levels of radiation. Sources of radiation shall be used, stored, and transported in such a manner that the requirements of §289.202 of this title, §289.231 of this title, and §289.257 of this title, as applicable, are met.
(g) Storage precautions.
(1) Each source of radiation, except accelerators, shall be provided with a storage and/or transport container. Each container shall have a lock (or tamper seal for calibration sources) to prevent unauthorized removal of, or exposure to, the source of radiation.
(2) Each area or room in which sources of radiation are stored shall be posted in accordance with §289.202(aa)(5) or §289.231(x) of this title, as applicable.
(3) Sources of radiation, except accelerators, shall be stored downhole or in a bunker in order to minimize the danger from explosion and/or fire.
(4) Sources of radiation may not be stored in residential locations. This section does not apply to storage of radioactive material in a vehicle in transit for use at temporary job sites, if the licensee complies with subsection (bb)(2) of this section.
(5) Sources of radiation in storage shall be secured to prevent tampering, or removal by unauthorized individuals.
(h) Transport precautions. Transport containers shall be locked and physically secured to the transporting vehicle to prevent shifting during transport, accidental loss, tampering, or unauthorized removal.
(i) Radiation survey instruments.
(1) The licensee or registrant shall maintain a sufficient number of calibrated and operable radiation survey instruments at each location where sources of radiation are stored or used to make physical radiation surveys as required by this section and by §289.202(p) or §289.231(s), of this title, as applicable. Instrumentation shall be capable of measuring 0.1 milliroentgen per hour (mR/hr) (1 microsievert per hour (µSv/hr)) through at least 50 mR/hr (500 µSv/hr). (Instrumentation capable of measuring 0.1 mR/hr (1 µSv/hr) through 50 mR/hr (500 µSv/hr) may not be sufficient to determine compliance with DOT requirements.)