Westinghouse Hanford Company ALARA year-end report, Calendar Year 1994: Revision 3, Radiological engineering and ALARA
It has long been DOE`s Policy that radiation exposures should be maintained as far below the dose limits as is reasonably achievable. This policy, known as the ALARA Principle of radiation protection, maintains that radiation exposures should be maintained as low as reasonably achievable, taking into account social, technical, economic, practical, and public policy considerations. The ALARA Principle is based on the hypothesis that even very low radiation doses carry some risk. As a result, it is not enough to maintain doses at/or slightly below limits; the lower the doses, the lower the risks. Because it is not possible to reduce all doses at DOE facilities to zero, economic and social factors must be considered to determine the optimal level of radiation doses. According to the ALARA principle, if doses are too high, resources should be well spent to reduce them. At some point, the resources being spent to maintain low doses are exactly balanced by the risks avoided. Reducing doses below this point results in a misallocation of resources; the resources could be spent elsewhere and have a greater impact on health and safety. The WHC ALARA sitewide goals were developed by the WHC ALARA Council and the ALARA/CCIP Program Office, while the facility/organizational level ALARA goals were developed by the facility/organizational ALARA committees. Goal statuses have been approved by facility management or their representative and transmitted verbatim in this report. These goals reflect a commitment by management to ensure a quality ALARA program driven by an emphasis on safety, the health of workers, and the protection of the environment. The final status, performance, and lessons learned of ALARA goals developed for Calendar Year (CY) 1994, are provided in this report.
- Research Organization:
- Westinghouse Hanford Co., Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-87RL10930
- OSTI ID:
- 71514
- Report Number(s):
- WHC-SP--0671-Rev.3; ON: DE95010571
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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