(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).
(c) Definitions. The following words and terms when
used in this section shall have the following meaning unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise.
(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:
(A) initial training;
(B) on-the-job training;
(C) annual safety reviews provided by the licensee;
(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:
(A) instruments to be used;
(B) methods of performing the analysis; and
(C) pertinent experience of the person who will analyze
the wipe samples.
(e) Prohibitions.
(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.)
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