The Growing Importance of NORM Management

For decades, the management of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) has been framed almost exclusively through the lens of safety and regulation. While this perspective remains essential, it has also constrained the way stakeholders perceive NORM - primarily as a liability to be controlled, rather than a resource to be understood and, where appropriate, utilized responsibly.

This narrow framing has had unintended consequences. By focusing predominantly on compliance and constraints, the significant opportunities embedded within NORM management have not been fully explored. As a result, engagement from industry, capital markets, and strategic investors has remained limited, and innovation has been slower than it could be. Too often, discussions have taken place within closed circles of experts - regulators, researchers, and consultants - without sufficiently engaging those who ultimately operate facilities, mobilize capital, and bring solutions to scale.

Yet the context in which NORM exists is rapidly changing.

Industries generating NORM residues - mining, oil and gas, geothermal, fertilizers, and beyond - are under increasing pressure to improve resource efficiency, reduce waste, and align with circular economy principles. At the same time, global demand for critical and strategic materials is rising sharply, driven by the transition to a low‑carbon economy. In this evolving landscape, NORM residues are no longer just a compliance issue; they are part of a broader sustainability, resource security, and industrial transformation agenda.

This creates a unique and timely opportunity.

To realize it, a shift in mindset is required. Safety must remain the foundation - but it should no longer define the ceiling. The real challenge is to move beyond a purely problem‑solving approach and embrace a value‑creation perspective: identifying where NORM management can contribute to sustainable industrial systems, unlock secondary raw materials, reduce long‑term liabilities, and generate economically viable solutions under robust regulatory oversight.

Such a transition will not happen by default. It requires leadership, cross‑sector dialogue, and the active participation of those who can implement change - industry operators, technology developers, policymakers, and investors. It also requires a platform where regulatory expectations, technological innovations, and economic opportunities can be discussed together, rather than in isolation.

This conference aims to provide exactly that platform.

By bringing together key decision‑makers across policy, industry, finance, and research, it seeks to reframe the conversation on NORM - from one dominated by constraints to one that also recognises opportunities. It will explore how NORM management can align with global priorities such as sustainability, circularity, and resource security, while maintaining the highest standards of radiological protection.

If NORM continues to be viewed only as a problem, the sector risks perpetuating a narrative that discourages investment and limits innovation. Conversely, by deliberately examining where safe management intersects with economic value and strategic resources, NORM can become part of the solution to some of today’s most pressing challenges.

The time has come to turn the key.