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Answer to Question #4079 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"Category: Policy, Guidelines, and Regulations The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field: Q
The annual radiation exposure limits for a radiation worker is 5000mrem per year. I read in the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) Part 20- "Standards for Protection Against Radiation" that a high radiation area is considered to be 100 mrem in one hour at 30 cm from any radiation source. Could that 100 mrem exposure cause any health effects? Why is it considered a high radiation area?
A
The US NRC, through its regulations, uses dose rates to establish posting requirements for radiation areas, high radiation areas, and very high radiation areas (reference 10 CFR Section 20.1601). These requirements (in 10 CFR 20.1601 and 1602) are intended to prevent inadvertent, unwarranted, and potentially dangerous overexposures of individuals at facilities licensed by the NRC. Regulatory Guide 8.38, "Control of Access to High and Very High Radiation Areas in Nuclear Power Plants," states that because there are areas within these plants that may have high radiation areas, and personnel working in these areas could potentially receive doses in excess of the regulatory limits in a very short period of time, special access controls, are required by the licensees. As far as whether or not a 100 mrem exposure would produce any health effects, as described in NRC Regulatory Guide 8.29, "Instruction Concerning Risks from Occupational Radiation Exposure," if you receive a radiation dose within the occupational limits of 5,000 mrem (5 rem) per year, you will more than likely not get cancer from that exposure. The occupational dose limit for workers is based on the consideration of the potential for delayed biological effects. The 5 rem limit, together with the application of keeping occupational doses ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable), provides a level of risk of delayed effects considered acceptable by NRC. In addition, the limits for individual organs are below the dose levels at which early biological effects are observed in the
Cyndi G. Jones, PhD
Answer posted on 15 November 2004. The information and material posted on this Web site is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may alter the concepts and applications of materials and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice specific to whatever facts and circumstances are presented in any given situation. Answers are correct at the time they are posted on the Web site. Be advised that over time, some requirements could change, new data could be made available, or Internet links could change. For answers that have been posted for several months or longer, please check the current status of the posted information prior to using the responses for specific applications.
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