NORM
Long-lived radioactive elements such as uranium, thorium and potassium and any of their decay products, such as radium and radon are examples of NORM – Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials.
Recently I had a project which was delayed when when an area of an asset was closed due to unacceptable levels of radiation. This was due to a build up of scale which contained Radium. This had to be cleared prior to the area being accessible for completion of the project.
NORM presents a problem for a number of different industries shown in the list below from the World Nuclear Association.
- The coal industry (mining and combustion)
- The oil and gas industry (production)
- Metal mining and smelting
- Mineral sands (rare earth minerals, titanium and zirconium).
- Fertiliser (phosphate) industry
- Building industry
- Recycling
It occurred to me that this should be a consideration for any reconnaissance when evaluating industrial sites during or post conflicts. Installations should maintain procedures and monitoring which could be identified.
Has anyone else had issues with NORM during their attachments?
Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog 
No personal experience, but I seem to recall sitting in a 170 Gp presentation whilst Iraq was still going on and they commented how they’d come across a number of buildings occupied by allied forces that seemed warm and cosy, but were in fact full of horrible industrial substances that the occupants were sleeping on/breathing in. Like you said – one to keep an eye on!
I recall from my HPC induction a video clip talking about NORM that started; because of all the granite it contains, the Whitehouse in the USA gives off more radiation than Hinkley Point A, B and when finished, C altogether. It also said that if the levels present in the Whitehouse were detected on-site, the ONR would close the site to investigate why! Poor Donald. No wonder he’s so orange,