Cardinal Surveys Company

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U.S. Patent 4199680

Tagmaster Picture

High Pressure Advantages
Tagmaster ® Advantages
Tagmaster ® Specifications
Radioactive Isotopes

Introduction

The Tagmaster ® was developed in the late 1970's. At that time, Cardinal Surveys was part of the larger Cardinal Companies. The Tagmaster ® design, construction, and testing were all done with the first-hand feed back of our own treating company (Cardinal Chemical), wireline company (Cardinal Surveys), and radiation lab. Testing led to progressive design changes resulting in the Tagmaster ® becoming the safest and most accurate tagging system in the oil industry.

Down Stream, High Pressure Tagging

Tagging a treatment down stream of the pumps has many inherent advantages over injecting radioactive material in the low pressure pump intakes. They are as follows:

  • No surface equipment, (pumps, blender, manifold, etc...), has radioactive material passing through it. This prevents a build up of contamination that will accumulate to a point where field personnel will be exposed, not only to the R/A passing through the system, but also to the residue contamination from past tags. These units can become too contaminated to be legally operated!

    Radioactive Contamination Comparison

    Contamination Comparison

  • The R/A flush is instantaneous. There is no opportunity for any particles to become trapped in the surface equipment that might release during flush.

  • If a frac treatment screens out to surface, all contamination will be down stream from the "T" assembly.

  • If there is a R/A spill, it will be in an area with no personnel in the immediate vicinity.

  • Personnel exposure is kept to a minimum.

    Tagmaster ® ADVANTAGES

    Placement of R/A Storage

    While chronic exposure to low level radiation is hazardous, the immediate danger is from exposure to the R/A in concentration. Many systems store the R/A on, or near, charged fluid lines. If the line should burst you could have a dangerous and expensive problem to contend with. The Tagmaster ® stores R/A in concentration 50 - 100 feet away from all treating lines.

    R/A Storage

    Containment pots for the R/A are mounted in the back-center of the Tagmaster ®. The pots are plastic coated, steal containers that have approximately one inch of lead shielding. This gives our technicians a minimum of 5, half-value layer shields for Iridium 192, our primary isotope used in the Tagmaster ®.

    Professional Tagging Technicians

    All of Cardinal's technicians have received government approved training programs. They are trained in the proper methods of containment, clean up, A.L.A.R.A. techniques, Cardinal's regulations, and government regulations concerning the transportation, use, and exposure limits of radioactive materials. Quality Control Log

    Tagmaster ® Quality Control Log

    The Tagmaster ® Quality Control Log is an optional service offered by Cardinal Surveys Company. A PC based data acquisition system that monitors radiation intensity of injected materials during the stimulation.

    RSO

    Cardinal's Radiation Safety Officer is responsible for safety, training, and regulatory compliance where radioactive materials are involved. The RSO maintains and reviews records of Before & After Location Surveys, Personnel Exposure (whole body and thyroid bioassay), and monitors Cardinal facilities.

    He also holds a prominent position in the Radiation Safety Committee. Records and procedures are periodically reviewed by the committee to make changes where needed to enhance our A.L.A.R.A. program.

    Isotope Quality Control

    Cardinal has the majority of isotopes we use in the Tagmaster ® targeted by the Nuclear Science Center at Texas A&M University. Our control of materials supplied for targeting and follow up testing ,with a state of the art 4096 channel spectrum analyzer, assures quality and quantity control.

    Experience

    No one else can offer your the knowledge, quality, and dependability gained by the successful completion of over 5,000 tags since 1980. We also have extensive experience in logging after stimmulations. See more information in our GAMMA TROL - II Page.

    Tagmaster T

    Tagmaster ® Specifications

    4140 Carbon Steal "T"

    Weco 1502 connections

    20,000 psi working pressure valve

    20,000 psi working pressure check valve

    14,000 psi working pressure hose with 40,000 psi minimum burst

    20,000 psi working pressure manifold

    4 - Plastic coated, steal contaiment pots with 1" of lead sheilding

    Radioactive Isotopes Used At Cardinal Surveys
    Isotope Atomic Symbol Half-Life Special Concerns Photopeaks Mev
    Iodine 131I 8.04 days Thyroid Seeker 9.99 (X-ray), 0.08, 0.2843, 0.3645, 0.638, 0.724
    Iridium192IR 74.2 days None 0.067 (X-ray), 0.140 (Compton), 0.210 (Compton), 0.315, 0.470, 0.605, 0.79, 0.90 (sholder)
    Scandium46SC 83.8 days High Beta/Energy0.887, 1.119, (0.89 plus 1.1 sum peak)
    Antimony124SB 60.2 days High Beta 0.603, 0.645 (hidden shoulder), 0.722 (shoulder peak), 1.30 - 1.37, 1.69, 2.09, (1.69 plus 0.603 sum peak)
    Gold198AU 2.696 days High Beta 0.412
    Bromine82BR 35.34 hours High Energy 0.55, 0.61, 0.7, 0.77, 1.04, 1.33, 1.48, 1.90, 2.14

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