Occupational Radiation Exposure at Commercial Nuclear Power Reactors and Other Facilities 1999: Thirty-Second Annual Report (NUREG-0713, Volume 21)
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Publication Information
Manuscript Completed: September 2000
Date Published: October 2000
Prepared by:
H. Karagiannis, D.A. Hagemeyer*
*Science Applications International Corporation
301 Laboratory Road
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
Division of Risk Analysis and Applications
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555-0001
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Abstract
This report summarizes the occupational exposure data that are maintained in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Radiation Exposure Information and Reporting System (REIRS). The bulk of the information contained in the report was compiled from the 1999 annual reports submitted by six of the seven categories1 of NRC licensees subject to the reporting requirements of 10 CFR 20.2206. The annual reports submitted by these licensees consist of radiation exposure records for each monitored individual. These records are analyzed for trends and presented in this report in terms of collective dose and the distribution of dose among the monitored individuals. Because there are no geologic repositories for highlevel waste currently licensed, only six categories will be considered in this report.
Annual reports for 1999 were received from a total of 286 NRC licensees, of which 104 were operators of nuclear power reactors in commercial operation. Compilations of the reports submitted by the 286 licensees indicated that 129,951 individuals were monitored, 67,839 of whom received a measurable dose (Table 3.1). The collective dose incurred by these individuals was 16,661 person-rem, which represents a 2% increase from the 1998 value. The number of workers receiving a measurable dose increased, resulting in the average measurable dose of 0.25 rem for 1999. The average measurable dose is defined to be the total collective dose (TEDE) divided by the number of workers receiving a measurable dose.2 These figures have been adjusted to account for transient reactor workers.
In 1999, the annual collective dose per reactor for light water reactor (LWR) licensees was 131 person-rem. This represents a 4% increase from the value reported for 1998. The annual collective dose per reactor for boiling water reactors (BWRs) was 184 person-rem and, for pressurized water reactors (PWRs), it was 105 person-rem.
Analyses of transient worker data indicate that 23,077 individuals completed work assignments at two or more licensees during the monitoring year. The dose distributions are adjusted each year to account for the duplicate reporting of transient workers by multiple licensees. In 1999, the average measurable dose calculated from reported data was 0.20 rem. The corrected dose distribution resulted in an average measurable dose of 0.25 rem.
1 Commercial nuclear power reactors; industrial radiographers; fuel processors (including uranium enrichment), fabricators, and reprocessors; manufacturers and distributors of byproduct material; independent spent fuel storage installations; facilities for land disposal of low-level waste; and geologic repositories for high-level waste.
2 The number of workers with measurable dose includes any individual with a dose greater than zero rem and does not include doses reported as "not detectable".
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