Licensed NORM cleaning & decontamination facility in Texas
Bring NORM-contaminated pipe, tubing, tanks, valves and scrap to our licensed East Texas facility for evaluation and cleaning. We work with operators, pipeline companies and equipment owners in any state.
What the facility does
Winona is the address licensed by the State of Texas for the cleaning itself, which is why customers ship equipment to us from states where we don't hold a license.
Over years in service, oilfield equipment collects scale and sludge carrying naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). Once it reads above the regulatory limit, it can't be reused, sold or scrapped until a licensed company cleans it. Plenty of shops can't take it. We can.
USFS operates a Texas-licensed fixed facility in Winona, in East Texas, built for exactly this work. Equipment comes in, gets surveyed, gets cleaned, gets surveyed again, and goes back to you or on to its next use with the paperwork to show it.
Equipment we evaluate and clean
If it's contaminated with NORM, we can evaluate it. That covers most industrial and oilfield machinery and equipment, including:
- Oilfield pipe and tubing
- Separators and heater treaters
- Compressors
- Tanks, pressure vessels, valves and pumps
- Other industrial equipment and materials affected by NORM
Every load is reviewed before it's accepted. What we can take depends on the material, the readings and the conditions of our license, so the first step is always a conversation, not a delivery.
Why customers send it to Winona
A license, not a promise
Decontaminating someone else's NORM equipment in Texas takes a specific license. USFS holds Texas Radioactive Material License No. L06795, covering fixed-facility work at Winona and temporary-facility work at customer sites, plus Louisiana DEQ NORM license RC-670.
One company for the whole job
We survey, clean, haul and handle the waste. You don't coordinate three vendors and hope the paperwork lines up.
East Texas, close to the Haynesville and the Gulf Coast
Winona sits between Tyler and Longview, a short haul for East Texas and North Louisiana operators and within a day's drive of most of Texas.
A safety record an insurer vouches for
Zero recordable incidents in 2025 and the Texas Mutual 2023 Platinum Safety Partner Award, given to 200 of 76,000 policyholders. Radiation work is the last place you want a contractor who cuts corners.
From your yard to clean, in five steps
Tell us about it
Equipment type, quantity, location and any survey readings or photos.
Technical review
We check the material against our license and your schedule.
Scope & quote
A written scope covering cleaning, handling and any transport.
Approved delivery
Once accepted, we schedule delivery to Winona or haul it ourselves.
Clean & close out
Cleaned, surveyed, documented and released back to you.
Common questions
What is NORM?
NORM stands for naturally occurring radioactive material. In oil and gas, radium and other naturally radioactive elements come up with produced water and settle out as scale and sludge inside pipe, tubing, tanks and vessels.
Equipment with NORM above regulatory limits has to be decontaminated by a licensed company before it can be reused, sold or scrapped.
Can you take equipment from outside Texas?
Yes. Customers in any state can arrange to bring equipment to the Winona facility. Call or send us a request before anything ships: we review the material first and confirm we can accept it under our license.
What do you need from me for a quote?
The equipment type, roughly how much of it, where it is now, any survey readings you have, and photos if you can get them. The more we know up front, the faster and tighter the quote.
Can you come to our site instead?
Often, yes. Our Texas license covers temporary-facility work at customer locations and we hold a Louisiana DEQ NORM license. Some jobs are better done at the facility and some in the field; we'll tell you which. See NORM pipe & equipment decontamination.
Can I just ship the material?
No. Never ship NORM-contaminated material without written acceptance from USFS. Every load is reviewed and approved first, and transport has to follow the applicable requirements.
Often part of the same job
Got NORM equipment sitting in a yard?
Send us what you know about it. We'll tell you whether we can take it and what it costs.