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Research & Evidence

Case Studies

Real problems solved through rigorous research, data analysis and regulatory intelligence — built to stand up to scrutiny. This is our Research & Evidence capability in practice.

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Environment & Radiation Safety
74%
Of coal-site sampling points exceeding ICRP permissible radiation limits

Ambient Radiation Hazard Assessment and Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk Estimation Across Five Active Solid Mineral Mining Sites

An independent radiological baseline survey was commissioned across five active solid mineral extraction sites in Kogi State, Nigeria — spanning gold, feldspar-mica, limestone, iron ore, and coal deposits — to characterise ambient background ionising radiation and quantify occupational and community health risk against ICRP and UNSCEAR international benchmarks.

Using calibrated Radalert 100 and Digilert 200 nuclear radiation monitors deployed at standardised height across GPS-referenced sampling grids (Garmin GPSMAP 76S), ODEIS measured background ionising radiation across all five jurisdictions and derived absorbed dose rates, Annual Effective Dose Equivalents (AEDE), and Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) indices for each mine site and its surrounding host community.

Absorbed dose rates across all sites (159.7–251.9 nGy/h) exceeded the world permissible average of 89 nGy/h. ELCR values of 0.86–1.35 × 10³ exceeded the world permissible value at all sites, with coal and feldspar-mica zones presenting the highest long-term radiological burden on resident populations. A geospatial radiation contour map was produced for the entire study region, identifying high-exposure zones and informing targeted intervention priorities. Annual effective dose equivalents remained within safe absolute thresholds across all sites, providing a defensible basis for community reassurance and regulatory reporting.

Findings established site-specific radiological baselines, informed occupational exposure monitoring requirements under ALARA principles, and provided evidence-based guidance for regulatory engagement on mining community health impacts. Results were benchmarked against peer studies from the Niger Delta, Benue State, and South Western Nigeria, providing authoritative comparative context for national-level policy assessment.

Radiation Safety ICRP / UNSCEAR Compliance ELCR Assessment Absorbed Dose Modelling GPS Field Survey Mining Site Monitoring ALARA
Environment & Public Health
R² 0.97
Soil-to-sediment radioactivity correlation at coal sites — establishing physical weathering as the dominant contamination pathway

Radioactivity Baseline Survey of Mining-Impacted Soil and Sediment: Gross Alpha and Beta Characterisation Across Five Mineral Extraction Typologies

A systematic environmental radioactivity baseline programme was deployed across five geologically distinct solid mineral extraction zones in Kogi State, Nigeria — gold, feldspar-mica, limestone, iron ore, and coal — to quantify gross alpha and beta activity concentrations in surface soil and river sediment, and to determine whether active mining operations were elevating naturally occurring radioactivity above measurable background levels.

Thirty-nine samples — comprising 20 surface soil specimens, 5 soil control samples from host communities, 5 host-rock mineral samples, and 9 river sediment samples — were collected, processed to standard under oven-drying and hermetic-sealing protocols, and analysed using a Protean Instrument Corporation MPC 2000DP gas proportional counter at an accredited analytical facility, calibrated against Pu-239 (alpha) and Sr-90 (beta) certified reference sources.

Mean gross alpha activity in surface soil ranged from 12.94 ± 6.88 Bq/kg at limestone sites to 33.52 ± 8.20 Bq/kg at gold sites. Beta activities were consistently higher across all typologies, peaking at 69.76 ± 11.88 Bq/kg at coal extraction zones. Critically, a strongly significant correlation between soil and sediment radioactivity at coal sites (R² = 0.93–0.97 for alpha and beta respectively) confirmed physical weathering of mineral rock as the primary contamination pathway into the aquatic environment — a finding with direct implications for downstream water quality management, sediment transport modelling, and aquatic ecosystem risk assessment.

Activity concentrations across most sites were demonstrably lower than equivalent baselines from oil-producing regions in Rivers State, Nigeria, where alpha activities reached 152–322 Bq/kg — providing a statistically grounded basis for regulatory reassurance. Findings were delivered as a certified baseline dataset supporting the client’s long-term environmental monitoring programme and informing radiological threshold-setting in alignment with international environmental radioactivity guidelines.

Gross Alpha & Beta Analysis Environmental Radioactivity Soil & Sediment Sampling NORM Assessment Proportional Counting Contamination Pathway Modelling Baseline Survey
Environment & Regulatory
3 Jurisdictions
UK · Gulf of Mexico · Nigeria — comparative regulatory analysis

NORM Waste Management in Oil & Gas Decommissioning: A Multi-Jurisdictional Regulatory Intelligence Study

An upstream decommissioning contractor operating across the UK Continental Shelf required a rigorous, evidence-based understanding of how naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) waste regulations, treatment technologies, and enforcement practices compared across the UK, United States (Gulf of Mexico), and Nigeria — ahead of a major multi-site decommissioning programme.

ODEIS conducted a multi-jurisdictional regulatory intelligence study using an embedded multiple case study design. Seven organisations were engaged through in-depth semi-structured interviews — three UK-based NORM treatment and waste management operators, three Gulf of Mexico specialists, and one Nigerian regulatory body — with data analysed using cross-case synthesis techniques to surface regulatory gaps, enforcement disparities, and best-available treatment benchmarks.

Key findings established that UK NORM regulation — anchored in the Waste Framework Directive, OSPAR Convention, and the Radioactive Substances Act — represented the most clearly defined and rigorously enforced framework of the three regions, with ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principles embedded at every stage of the decommissioning lifecycle. Gulf of Mexico practices varied significantly by state. Nigeria's framework, while comprehensive in scope, was found to lack consistent enforcement mechanisms and technical specificity for NORM decontamination procedures.

The study produced a structured disposal and treatment options matrix — covering ultra-high-pressure water jetting, chemical decontamination, downhole injection, controlled incineration-to-energy, and compaction technologies — enabling the client to select and document technically defensible disposal routes for each asset class in their decommissioning programme. The regulatory gap analysis was subsequently used to inform the client's supply chain requirements and their NORM management plan submission to the relevant competent authority.

NORM Waste Management Oil & Gas Decommissioning Regulatory Intelligence Cross-Case Synthesis Waste Framework Directive OSPAR Convention ALARA Compliance

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