Occupational Radiation Exposure at Commercial Nuclear Power Reactors and Other Facilities – 2005: Thirty-Eighth Annual Report (NUREG-0713, Volume 27)

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Publication Information

Manuscript Completed: November 2006
Date Published: December 2006

Prepared by
Sheryl Burrows
D. A. Hagemeyer*

Division of Fuel, Engineering and Radiological Research
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555-0001

*Oak Ridge Associated Universities
210 Badger Road
Oak Ridge, TN 37830

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Abstract

This report summarizes the occupational exposure data that are maintained in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) Radiation Exposure Information and Reporting System (REIRS). The bulk of the information contained in the report was compiled from the 2005 annual reports submitted by five 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 high-level waste currently licensed, and no low-level waste disposal facilities in operation, only fi ve categories will be considered in this report.

Annual reports for 2005 were received from a total of 218 NRC licensees, of which 104 were operators of nuclear power reactors in commercial operation. Compilations of the reports submitted by the 218 licensees indicated that 126,062 individuals were monitored, 64,246 of whom received a measurable dose (Table 3.1). The collective dose incurred by these individuals was 13,733 person-rem, which represents an 8% increase from the 2004 value. The number of workers receiving a measurable dose also increased, resulting in an average measurable dose of 0.21 rem for 2005, which is the same as the value for 2004. The average measurable dose is defined as the total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) divided by the number of workers receiving a measurable dose.² The figures for commercial reactors have been adjusted to account for transient reactor workers.

In calendar year 2005, the annual collective dose per reactor for light water reactor (LWR) licensees was 110 person-rem. This represents a 10% increase from the value reported for 2004 (100). The annual collective dose per reactor for boiling water reactors (BWRs) was 171 person-rem, and, for pressurized water reactors (PWRs), it was 79 person-rem. Analyses of transient worker data indicate that 26,936 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 2005, the average measurable dose per worker for all licensees calculated from reported data was 0.16 rem. The corrected dose distribution resulted in an average measurable dose per worker for all licensees of 0.22 rem.

1 Commercial nuclear power reactors; industrial radiographers; fuel processors (including uranium enrichment), fabricators, and reprocessors; manufacturers and distributors of by-product material; independent spent fuel storage installations; facilities for land disposal of low-level waste; and geologic repositories for high-level waste. There are currently no NRC licensees inVolumeved in low-level waste disposal or 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."