Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material in Your Water

NORM means Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material and TENORM stands for Technically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material.   The USEPA states "TENORM is produced when radionuclides that occur naturally in ores, soils, water, or other natural materials are concentrated or exposed to the environment by activities, such as uranium mining or sewage treatment."  Res-Kem sees the potential for TENORM in filters and softeners treating well water in areas where naturally occurring radioactive materials NORM are found.

As a result, Res-Kem will be adding an additional test before we replace media or particularly when entering tanks. We will bring instrumentation to test for TENORM radiation.  Unfortunately, if we detect radiation, we will have to button the system back up and depart.

Again on the USEPA's website "NORM consists primarily of material containing potassium-40 and isotopes belonging to the primordial series. The principal primordial radionuclides are isotopes of heavy elements belonging to the radioactive series headed by the three long-lived isotopes uranium-238 (uranium series), uranium-235 (actinium series), and thorium-232 (thorium series). ... At background concentrations, the naturally occurring radionuclides in the uranium, actinium, and thorium series contribute about one-half of the natural background external radiation, and over 80 percent of the background including radon, to which all humans are continuously exposed."
  From a Clean Harbors bulletin on the subject, typical sources of NORM and TENORM wastes include

• Oil and gas industry
• Geothermal energy production
• Coal combustion
• Mining of uranium and metals
• Phosphate production
• Municipal water treatment
• Abandoned mines and processing facilities
• General manufacturing

Temporary Exchange Softeners for Unplanned Equipment Repairs

Temporary, skid mounted softeners can get you back up and running when unplanned repairs are required to your in-house zeolite softeners.   Depending on the extent of the problems, repairs can take several weeks or longer.  Tanks are simply hooked up to your water source via cam-lock connections and 2" industrial Goodall hose.  As the tanks exhaust, Res-Kem will bring new tanks with regenerated resin.  No backwash is required, no salt is required and no hard piping is required.  

Skid-mounted Exchange Water Softener form Res-Kem

In order for water tube or firetube boilers to operate efficiently they need low hardness quality feedwater. If you've recently had a boiler opening and discovered scaled boilertubes due to non-functioning boiler pretreatment zeolite softeners and ineffective boiler internal chemical treatment. Res-Kem can provide ASME code 100 psig temporary skid mounted softeners good for flow ranges- 15-120 gpm. These tanks can be provided within a 150 miles radius of our locations in near Philadelphia, PA, New Britain, CT, Avon, MA and Colonial Heights, VA.

The tanks are delivered via a Res-Kem truck with a liftgate for dock deliveries or ground deliveries.  We transport the tanks short distances within your plant to the point of use via a motorized pallet jack.

 

Failing Water Softener.  Look familiar?

Siemens Selling Water Treatment Business

The big news in the water treatment industry for this past week has been Siemens' announcement to sell the water treatment equipment and water systems service business.  Bloomberg announcement states that the Siemens Water Technologies division includes wastewater, municipal and industrial water purification services and membrane filtration systems.  Most of these technologies were parts of the former US Filter Corporation acquired by Siemens in 2004 from Veolia Environnement for $993 million.  

According to a statement by Siegfried Russwurm, member of the Siemens AG Managing Board and CEO of the Industry Sector, "This business shows only minor synergies with our industrial portfolio, as the skills for water treatment are primarily based on chemical expertise. Instead of investing into that business, we want to gear our resources toward our core portfolio."

In related news, Kemira Oyj, Europe’s largest supplier of chemicals to treat water, will not be bidding for the water business of Siemens AG.