NORM Decontamination – Thistle Platform – UKCS

Location: Thistle Platform, North Sea, UK

Scope

Removal of a total of 20 tonnes of NORM (LSA) contaminated sand contained within two vessels C2 and D2 on board the Thistle Platform. This was followed by the decontamination and cutting up of the internal furniture removing items which could not be decontaminated within the tank to be double bagged and removed from the vessel for further strip down and cleaning. The scope then extended to the cold cutting of redundant production pipework followed by the de-scaling of the internal pipework. This allowed the steel to be disposed of onshore.

 

Challenge

  • Processing and macerating of oil contaminated scale to allow clean disposal at source
  • Containment of NORM contaminated waste – Purpose built Decontamination Unit utilised to allow controlled containment of waste on site
  • Movement of pipe work from location to Decontamination Unit

 

Key Facts

  • Costly disposal of contaminated steel avoided due to controlled containment
  • Minimal man entry achieved