title: A century of oil and gas exploration in Albania: assessment of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORMs).
abstract: The Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORMs) that are potentially generated from oil and gas extractions in Albania have been disposed of without regulations for many decades, and therefore, an extensive survey in one of the most productive regions (Vlora-Elbasan) was performed. A total of 52 gamma ray spectrometry measurements of soil, oil-sand, sludge, produced water and crude oil samples were performed. We discovered that relatively low activity concentrations of (226)Ra, (228)Ra, (228)Th and (40)K, with concentrations of 23±2Bq/kg, 23±2Bq/kg, 24±3Bq/kg and 549±12Bq/kg, respectively, came from the oil-sands produced by the hydrocarbon extraction of the molasses formations. The mineralogical characterizations and the (228)Ra/(40)K and (226)Ra/(40)K ratios of these Neogene deposits confirmed the predictions of the geological and geodynamic models of a dismantling of the Mesozoic source rocks. The average activity concentrations (±standard deviations) of the radium isotopes ((226)Ra and (228)Ra) and of the (228)Th and (40)K radionuclides in soil samples were 20±5Bq/kg, 25±10Bq/kg, 25±9Bq/kg and 326±83Bq/kg, respectively. Based on the measurements in this study, the future radiological assessments of other fields in the region should be strategically planned to focus on the oil-sands from the molasses sediments. Disequilibrium in the (228)Ra decay segment was not observed in the soil, sludge or oil-sand samples within the standard uncertainties. After a detailed radiological characterization of the four primary oil fields, we concluded that the outdoor absorbed dose rate never exceeded the worldwide population weighted average absorbed dose rate in outdoor air from terrestrial gamma radiation.
authors.affiliation: Legnaro National Laboratory, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Via dell'Università, 2, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy. Electronic address: xhixha@fe.infn.it.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xhixha
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat, 1, 44100 Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baldoncini
authors.affiliation: Legnaro National Laboratory, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Via dell'Università, 2, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Callegari
authors.affiliation: Center for GeoTechnologies, University of Siena, Via Vetri Vecchi, 34, 52027 San Giovanni Valdarno, Arezzo, Italy.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Colonna
authors.affiliation: Kosovo Agency for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (KARPNS), Office of the Prime Minister, Ish-Gërmia, 10000 Prishtinë, Kosovo.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hasani
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat, 1, 44100 Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mantovani
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Pristina "Hasan Prishtina", BreguiDiellit, 10000 Pristina, Kosovo.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shala
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat, 1, 44100 Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Strati
authors.affiliation: Legnaro National Laboratory, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Via dell'Università, 2, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xhixha Kaçeli
mesh_terms: D000415:Albania; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000032:analysis; D061329:Oil and Gas Fields; D010578:Petroleum / Q000032:analysis; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D011848:Radioactive Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D013051:Spectrometry, Gamma
chemical_list: D007220:Industrial Waste; D010578:Petroleum; D011848:Radioactive Pollutants; D011868:Radioisotopes; D012987:Soil
keywords: Gamma ray spectrometry; NORM; Natural radioactivity; Oil and gas extraction; Oil-sand