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Health Phys. 2021 Sep 1;121(3):209-224. doi: 10.1097/HP.0000000000001439.
Technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM) is gaining notoriety in the public sector, as the oil and gas industry looks for disposal locations for its slightly radioactive waste streams. Due in part to both the lack of federal regulations on the disposal of TENORM and the lack of permitted landfills that are designated for TENORM waste, occasionally it ends up being unknowingly placed in municipal landfills. It was alleged that a municipal landfill in Kentucky accepted 1.05 × 106 kg of TENORM over approximately 8 mo starting in July 2015. This matter is still in litigation, and many facts, including whether the material in question actually constituted TENORM, are still in dispute. The authors had no means available to independently verify the actual composition of the material. Therefore, for purposes of this article only, we assume that the material in question did constitute TENORM. This qualification allows us to evaluate potential doses while respecting the litigation process. Doses from the disposals and for two remediation alternatives, (1) closure-in-place and monitoring and (2) excavation and redisposition of waste, were evaluated, taking into consideration the landfill construction, local geology and hydrology, meteorology, background radiation, population distribution, and current and future land uses. This study outlines appropriate methods for calculating doses to potential receptors for a variety of exposure pathways that are broadly applicable to municipal or chemical/hazardous waste landfills. As this study demonstrates, doses to landfill workers and members of the public are low, both during the disposal and for the remediation alternatives evaluated, and well below regulatory limits. Removal of the materials does not reduce present day doses, and it presents other risks that outweigh any benefit from the long-term dose reduction.
技术增强型天然放射性物质（TENORM）在公共部门越来越受到关注，因为石油和天然气行业正在寻找其放射性较弱的废物流的处置地点。部分由于缺乏关于 TENORM 处置的联邦法规，以及缺乏指定用于 TENORM 废物的许可垃圾填埋场，有时它会被不知不觉地放置在城市垃圾填埋场中。据称，肯塔基州的一个城市垃圾填埋场在 2015 年 7 月开始的大约 8 个月内接受了 1.05×106 千克的 TENORM。此案仍在诉讼中，许多事实，包括所涉材料是否确实构成 TENORM，仍存在争议。作者没有办法独立验证材料的实际成分。因此，仅就本文而言，我们假设所涉材料确实构成 TENORM。这种限定允许我们在尊重诉讼程序的同时评估潜在剂量。评估了处置和两种补救替代方案（1）原地封闭和监测以及（2）挖掘和重新处置废物的剂量，考虑了垃圾填埋场的建设、当地地质和水文条件、气象条件、背景辐射、人口分布以及当前和未来的土地用途。本研究概述了适用于各种暴露途径的潜在受体剂量计算方法，这些方法广泛适用于城市或化学/危险废物垃圾填埋场。正如本研究所示，在处置期间和评估的补救替代方案中，垃圾填埋场工人和公众的剂量都很低，并且远低于监管限制。这些材料的清除并不能降低当前的剂量，而且会带来其他风险，超过了长期剂量减少带来的任何好处。
