Occupational Radiation Protection

The present Safety Guide provides general guidance on the establishment of an effective radiation protection programme for occupational exposure, appropriate for the sources of radiation likely to be encountered in a range of industries, medical institutions, educational and research establishments and nuclear fuel cycle facilities. The report further provides the necessary guidance to meet the requirements as laid down in Safety Series No. 115, International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources (1996).

This Safety Report has been developed as part of the IAEA programme on occupational radiation protection to provide for the application of its safety standards in implementing a graded approach to the protection of workers against exposures associated with uranium mining and processing. The publication describes the methods of production associated with the uranium industry and provides practical information on the radiological risks to workers in the exploration, mining and processing of uranium. It is a compilation of detailed information on uranium mining and processing stages and techniques, general radiation protection considerations in the relevant industry, general methodologies applicable for control, monitoring and dose assessment, exposure pathways, and radiation protection programmes for a range of commonly used mining and processing techniques.

Provides practical information on the application of the principle of the optimization of radiation protection in the workplace. The report emphasizes the importance of integrating radiation protection into the work management system and of the involvement of management and workers in setting up and implementing a radiation protection system.

The aim of radiation protection standards is to make the radiation workplace as safe as is humanly possible. The gradual evolution over the last 20 years has been towards a more precise definition of the limits for occupational exposure. These have been created not only in terms of short-term effects but also more importantly in terms of long-term risks involving such problems as the potential for carcinogenesis and genetic change. In the United States the National Committee for Radiation Protection has recom mended that 5 rems (50 mSv) should remain as the maximum permissible dose equiva lent for total body exposure. This would represent the sum of internal and external ex posure and should be regarded as the upper limit allowed. The community of radiation users is required to conduct its operations in such a man ner that the absolute value of the individual's dose equivalent in rems does not exceed his age in years. There should be additional limits for tissues and organs based on short term effects. Therefore, individual organs are limited to dose equivalents low enough to ensure that the dose threshold values are not exceeded.

This book is the seventh in a series of titles from the National Research Council that addresses the effects of exposure to low dose LET (Linear Energy Transfer) ionizing radiation and human health. Updating information previously presented in the 1990 publication, Health Effects of Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation: BEIR V, this book draws upon new data in both epidemiologic and experimental research. Ionizing radiation arises from both natural and man-made sources and at very high doses can produce damaging effects in human tissue that can be evident within days after exposure. However, it is the low-dose exposures that are the focus of this book. So-called “late” effects, such as cancer, are produced many years after the initial exposure. This book is among the first of its kind to include detailed risk estimates for cancer incidence in addition to cancer mortality. BEIR VII offers a full review of the available biological, biophysical, and epidemiological literature since the last BEIR report on the subject and develops the most up-to-date and comprehensive risk estimates for cancer and other health effects from exposure to low-level ionizing radiation.

This book discusses important fundamentals of radiation safety with specific details on dose units, calculations, measuring, and biological effects of ionizing radiation. The author covers different exposure situations and their requirements, and relevant legislation and regulations governing radiation safety. The book also examines radioactive waste management, the transport of radioactive materials, emergency planning and preparedness and various examples of radiation protection programs for industrial, medical, and academic applications.