Age-Specific Radiation Dose Commitment Factors for a one-year Chronic Year (NUREG-0172)

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Publication Information

Date Published: November 1977

Battelle Pacific Northwest Labortories
Richland, WA 99352

Prepared for:
Office of Standards Development
Under Contract No. B21446

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555-0001

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Introduction

During the licensing process for nuclear facilities, radiation doses(a) and dose commitments must be calculated for people in the environs of a nuclear facility. These radiation doses are determined by examining characteristics of population groups, pathways to people, and radionuclides found in those pathways. The pertinent characteristics, which are important in the sense of contributing a significant portion of the total dose, must then be analyzed in depth. Dose factors are generally available for adults, see Reference l for example, however numerous improvements in data on decay schemes and half-lives have been made in recent years. In addition, it is advisable to define parameters for calculation of the radiation dose for ages other than adults since the population surrounding nuclear facilities will be composed of various age groups. Further, since infants, children and teens may have higher rates of intake per unit body mass, it is conceivable that the maximally exposed individual may not be an adult. Thus, it was necessary to develop new radiation dose commitment factors for various age groups. Dose commitment factors presented in this report have been calculated for a 50-year time period for four age groups.


(a) In accordance with common practice, the term "dose", when applied to individuals, is used in this report instead of the more precise term "dose equivalent", as defined by the International Commission on Radiological Units and Measurements (ICRU).

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