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Radiation safety standards: space hazards vs. terrestrial hazards

Conference · · Adv. Space Res.; (United States)
OSTI ID:6340764
Policies regarding the setting of standards for radiation exposure for astronauts and other workers in space are discussed. The first recommendations for dose limitation and the underlying philosophy of these recommendations, which were put out in 1970, are examined, and consequences for the standards if the same philosophy of allowing a doubling in overall cancer risk for males aged 30-35 over a 20-year period were applied to more recent risk estimates are calculated, leading to values about a factor of 4 below the 1970 recommendation. Standards set since 1930 for terrestrial occupational exposures, which lead to a maximum lifetime risk of about 2.3 percent, are then considered, and the space and terrestrial exposure risks for fatal cancers at maximum lifetime dose are compared with industrial accidental death rates. Attention is also given to the question of the potential effects of HZE particles in space and to the possibility that HZE particle effects, rather than radiation carcinogenesis, might be the limiting factor. 17 references.
Research Organization:
National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Bethesda, MD
OSTI ID:
6340764
Report Number(s):
CONF-820582-
Conference Information:
Journal Name: Adv. Space Res.; (United States) Journal Volume: 3
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English