Integrated assessment of natural and technologically enhanced radioactive materials (TENORM) in oil-producing regions: Implications for environmental health risk and sustainable remediation.

Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) are ubiquitous in Earth's crust, but oil and gas extraction activities concentrate these radionuclides into technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM), creating substantial environmental and public health concerns. Produced water, scale deposits, and sludge accumulations containing elevated radium isotopes (226Ra and 228Ra) are generated in hundreds of millions of tonnes annually across global production basins. This review critically synthesizes current knowledge on TENORM occurrence, environmental transport, human and ecological health risks, monitoring technologies, and sustainable remediation strategies in oil producing regions. An integrative review was conducted following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, searching Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, and Google Scholar for peer reviewed literature published between 2020 and 2026. TENORM contamination is widespread, with 95% of produced water, 82% of scale, and 58% of sludge exceeding international exemption values. Environmental fate is governed by particle size fractionation and chemical speciation, while atmospheric radon dispersion creates inhalation doses exceeding safety thresholds. Emerging technologies including real time sensor networks with artificial intelligence anomaly detection and powdered activated carbon treatment achieving >97% radium removal offer promising solutions. Substantial knowledge gaps persist in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Asia Pacific region, alongside absent longitudinal epidemiological studies directly linking TENORM exposure to health outcomes. Integrated, risk-based management frameworks harmonizing monitoring, assessment, and remediation are urgently required to protect public health and advance sustainable development in oil producing regions.