Natural Radiation Exposure In The United States

Naturally occurring radionuclides are found throughout the earth's crust, and they form part of the natural background of radiation to which all humans are exposed. Many human activities-such as mining and milling of ores, extraction of petroleum products, use of groundwater for domestic purposes, and living in houses-alter the natural background of radiation either by moving naturally occurring radionuclides from inaccessible locations to locations where humans are present or by concentrating the radionuclides in the exposure environment. Such alterations of the natural environment can increase, sometimes substantially, radiation exposures of the public. Exposures of the public to naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) that result from human activities that alter the natural environment can be subjected to regulatory control, at least to some degree. The regulation of public exposures to such technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other regulatory and advisory organizations is the subject of this study by the National Research Council's Committee on the Evaluation of EPA Guidelines for Exposures to Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials.

Over the past several decades, public concern over exposure to ionizing radiation has increased. This concern has manifested itself in different ways depending on the perception of risk to different individuals and different groups and the circumstances of their exposure. One such group are those U.S. servicemen (the "Atomic Veterans" who participated in the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons at the Nevada Test Site or in the Pacific Proving Grounds, who served with occupation forces in or near Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or who were prisoners of war in or near those cities at the time of, or shortly after, the atomic bombings. This book addresses the feasibility of conducting an epidemiologic study to determine if there is an increased risk of adverse reproductive outcomes in the spouses, children, and grandchildren of the Atomic Veterans.

"The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP), successor to the National Committee on Radiation Protection and Measurements, has embarked on a program to examine and evaluate the many private studies and government programs related to sources of ionizing radiation that may contribute to the overall exposure of the population. An assessment of the radiation doses will be made in several broad categories, such as exposure from consumer products, occupational exposure, etc. To the extent possible, the results will be expressed in meaningful quantities and units so as to facilitate comparisons of sources and exposures. This report, the first in a series of reports envisioned under this program, is concerned with the assessment of the radiation dose to the population from natural background radiation. Included in this report are the absorbed doses to the population due to radiation from cosmic sources, radionuclides in the earth, internally deposited radionuclides, inhaled radioactivity and fallout from nuclear weapons tests." --From Preface, page iii.