(a) Abandonment of radioactive source.
(1) Immediate notice of the loss of a radioactive source
shall be filed by the operator with the commission designating the
location, by county, survey name and abstract number, lease name and
well number, distances from survey boundaries and Lambert Coordinates.
(2) Procedures for recovery of the lost radioactive
source will be furnished to the commission and such radioactive source
shall not be declared abandoned until all reasonable effort has been
expended to retrieve the tool.
(3) The operator shall erect, under supervision of
the commission, a standardized permanent surface marker as a visual
warning to any person who may reenter the hole for any reason, showing
that it contains a radioactive source. This marker shall contain
the following information: well name, commission number, surface location,
name of the operator, name of the lease, the source or material abandoned
in the well, the total depth of the well, the depth at which the source
is abandoned, the plug back depth, the date of the abandonment of
the source, the activity of the source, and a warning not to drill
below the plug back depth.
(b) Abandonment procedures.
(1) Wells in which radioactive sources are abandoned
shall be mechanically equipped so as to prevent either accidental
or intentional mechanical disintegration of the radioactive source.
(A) Sources abandoned in the bottom of the well shall
be covered with a substantial standard color dyed (red iron oxide)
cement plug on top of which a whipstock or other approved deflection
device shall be set. The dye is to alert the reentry operator prior
to encountering the source.
(B) Upon abandoning the well in which a logging source
has been cemented in place behind a casing string above total depth,
a standard color dyed cement plug shall be placed opposite the abandoned
source and a whipstock or other approved deflection device placed
on top of the plug.
(C) In the event the operator finds that after expending
a reasonable effort, because of hole conditions, it is not possible
to abandon the source as prescribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
this paragraph, he shall seek commission approval to an alternate
abandonment procedure.
(D) When a logging source must be abandoned in a producing
zone, a standard color dyed cement plug shall be set and a whipstock
or other approved deflection device placed above to direct the sidetrack
at least 15 feet away from the source.
(2) Upon permanent abandonment of any well in which
a radioactive source is left in the hole, and after removal of the
wellhead, a permanent plaque shall be attached to the top of the casing
left in the hole in such a manner that reentry cannot be accomplished
without disturbing the plaque. This plaque shall serve as a visual
warning to any person reentering the hole that a radioactive source
has been abandoned in place in the well. The plaque shall contain
the trefoil radiation symbol with a radioactive warning and shall
be constructed of a long-lasting material such as monel, stainless
steel, or brass, in accordance with specifications established by
the commission. The plugging report filed with the commission shall
identify the well as an abandoned radioactive source well, and shall
show compliance with the procedures required by this section.
(3) The commission will maintain a current listing
of all abandoned radioactive source wells, and each district office
will keep such a list for radioactive source wells in that district.
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