Annual report on discharges of radioactive substances from the non-nuclear sector in 2013
Data are available on ODIMS via: https://odims.ospar.org/documents/156
Executive Summary
Annual data collection by OSPAR on discharges from the non-nuclear sector has only been taking place since 2006 (collecting data from 2005). Due to the incompleteness of datasets, no data have been published until 2009. This is the seventh annual report and assessment of discharges from the non-nuclear sector published by OSPAR.
The 2013 data reported by Contracting Parties were sufficient to make an assessment of discharges from the offshore oil and gas sub-sector, which is the major non-nuclear source. It is also possible to judge the relative contribution from the medical sub-sector. Data are available for the other non-nuclear sub-sectors (universities and research, radiochemical manufacturing and various others), but they are considered to be of minor importance.
Full Report
The radionuclides reported from the offshore oil and gas industry are: Ra-226, Ra-228, Pb-210, discharged via produced water. The data are converted into total alpha and total beta (excluding tritium) activity in order to be able to compare the magnitude with discharges from other sectors. In 2013, it was agreed that a baseline could be established for Ra-226 and Ra-228 based on reported discharge data from 2005 – 2011 although a baseline for Pb-210 had not been considered, as datasets available needed further examination.