Occupational Radiation Exposure at Commercial Nuclear Power Reactors and Other Facilities 2023: Fifty-Sixth Annual Report (NUREG-0713, Volume 45)
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Publication Information
Manuscript Completed: July 2025
Date Published: July 2025
Prepared by:
T. A. Brock
D. A. Hagemeyer*
D. B. Holcomb*
Oak Ridge Associated Universities
1299 Bethel Valley Road, SC-200, MS-21
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
T. A. Brock, NRC Project Manager
Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
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Abstract
This report summarizes the occupational exposure data maintained in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Radiation Exposure Information and Reporting System (REIRS) database. The bulk of the information in this report was compiled from the 2023 annual reports submitted by five of the seven categories1 of NRC licensees subject to the reporting requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 20.2206, “Reports of individual monitoring.” 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 across the monitored individuals.
Annual reports for 2023 were received from a total of 169 NRC licensees from the five categories included in this report. Collectively, these reports indicate that 135,562 individuals were monitored, 58,916 of whom received a measurable dose (a dose that is reported as a positive value; see table 3-1). With the data adjusted to account for transient individuals, there were 93,489 unique individuals monitored, 42,048 of whom received a measurable dose (see section 5).
The collective dose incurred by these individuals was 7,616 person-rem (76,160 person-millisieverts [mSv]), which represents a 17 percent increase from the 2022 value (see table 3-1). The 2023 collective dose is 9 percent higher than the 5-year average of 6,955 person-rem (2018–2022), which is not a statistically significant change.2 The increase in collective dose in 2023 was due to increases in four categories: industrial radiography licensees (60 percent increase), commercial nuclear power reactor licensees (9 percent increase), fuel cycle licensees (8 percent increase), and manufacturing and distribution licensees (5 percent increase). Relative to the 5-year average of collective dose for their respective categories, only fuel cycle licensees and manufacturing and distribution licensees exhibited statistically significant changes in dose.
The number of individuals receiving a measurable dose increased by 2 percent from 2022 and was 3 percent below the 5-year average but was not statistically significant. With the data adjusted to account for transient individuals, the average measurable dose in 2023 was 0.16 rem (1.6 mSv), which is higher than the 2022 value of 0.14 rem (1.4 mSv) in 2022, and but does not represent a statistically significant change from the 5-year average. (The average measurable dose is defined as the total effective dose equivalent divided by the number of individuals receiving a measurable dose.)
In calendar year 2023, the average annual collective dose per reactor for light-water reactor (LWR) licensees was 60 person-rem (600 person-mSv). This is a 9 percent increase from the value reported for 2022 (table 4-3) but does not represent a statistically significant change from the 5-year average. The total number of outage hours at commercial nuclear power plants decreased slightly from 2022 to 2023. The collective dose for the LWR licensee category increased by 467 person-rem (4,670 person-mSv), from 5,085 person-rem (50,850 person-mSv) in 2022 to 5,552 person-rem (55,520 person-mSv) in 2023.
The average annual collective dose per reactor was 116 person-rem (1,160 person-mSv) for the 31 boiling-water reactors (BWRs) and 32 person-rem (320 person-mSv) for the 61 pressurized water reactors (PWRs). The 2023 value for BWRs is 12 percent higher than the 5-year average annual collective dose per BWR, which represents a statistically significant increase. The 2023 value for PWRs is 3 percent higher than the 5-year average annual collective dose per PWR, which does not represent a statistically significant increase.
There were 22,171 individuals monitored by two or more licensees during the monitoring year. The assessment of the average measurable dose per individual is adjusted each year to account for the reporting of measurable doses for transient individuals by multiple licensees. The adjustments to account for transient individuals are noted in the footnotes for the applicable figures and tables.
1 The seven categories are (1) commercial nuclear power reactors and test reactor facilities, (2) industrial
radiographers, (3) fuel processors (including uranium enrichment facilities), fabricators, and reprocessors,
(4) facilities involved in manufacturing and distribution of byproduct material, (5) independent spent fuel storage
installations, (6) facilities for land disposal of low-level waste, and (7) geologic repositories for high-level waste.
Because there are currently no geologic repositories for high-level waste currently licensed and no NRC-licensed low-level waste disposal facilities currently in operation, this report considers only five categories.
2 Section 2.2 of this report presents additional statistical comparisons.
Page Last Reviewed/Updated Monday, July 14, 2025