Proposal keeps dose limits but drops minimization requirement
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to eliminate a foundational safety principle that has for 50 years minimized the radiation people in the United States are exposed to and that has been adopted around the world, according to the Associated Press.
Currently, facilities such as nuclear plants, hospitals, or academic institutions that use radioactive materials must ensure radiation exposures are kept “as low as reasonably achievable” — the ALARA principle. The NRC proposal would abandon that philosophy while keeping a separate standard on maximum radiation exposure.
The two standards have worked together in radiation safety, the AP reported. Dose limits set the maximum amount of radiation the public and radiation workers can be exposed to, while ALARA kept radiation exposure as low as practical under those limits.
Research shows radiation exposure increases a person’s chance of getting cancer, a risk that increases as the dose increases, according to the AP.