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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

ALARA and de minimis concepts in regulation of personnel exposure

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5871501
The ALARA process should not be limited by a de minimis level on either collective or individual dose, but should be limited or defined by an acceptable discount-rate on future costs and effects, and a monetary value for detriment, to be used in cost-effectiveness or cost-benefit calculations at dose levels well below the regulatory limits. This approach would provide the desired benefit of simplifying the decision process, it makes it more cost effective, and would avoid the inconsistencies of limits on only one of the four parameters of importance in the optimization process. These are average individual effective dose equivalent rate, number of individuals to be included in the summation, years of exposure, and costs, which include costs of analysis to reduce the exposure. This approach emphasizes that these doses to an individual may not be considered trivial by society when given to a very large population, especially if they could easily be avoided. 32 refs., 2 tabs.
Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-76CH00016
OSTI ID:
5871501
Report Number(s):
BNL-40247; CONF-8709104-5; ON: DE87014922
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English