Preliminary Public Dose Evaluation in Support of the Development of the
November 2012
Rare Element Resources Bear Lodge Project
15
“unrefined or unprocessed ore” exemption. If determined appropriate by the NRC, this material
could require specific licensing and the radiation protection standards in 10 CFR 20 would apply.
The public radiation dose limits in 10 CFR 20 are:
•
A total effective dose equivalent to individual members of the public from the licensed
operation not to exceed 0.1 rem (100 mrem) in a year, exclusive of the dose contributions
from background radiation,
•
The dose in any unrestricted area from external sources not to exceed 2 mrem in any one
hour (h),
•
A constraint on air emissions of radioactive material to the environment, excluding radon
and its daughters, shall be established by licensees such that the individual member of the
public likely to receive the highest dose will not be expected to receive a total effective
dose equivalent in excess of 10 mrem y
-1
from these emissions.
The NRC also requires, to the extent practical, implementation of procedures and engineering
controls based on sound radiation protection principle to achieve public doses that are as low as
is reasonably achievable (ALARA). ALARA is the optimization component of radiation
protection principles. The public dose limits and ALARA requirement are applicable to all
radionuclides, not just uranium and thorium.
3.2
Guidance on Public Exposures to NORM or TENORM
There are several organizations within the U.S. and internationally that provide guidance on
public exposures to NORM or Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive
Material ([TENORM], defined according to the standard below). These include but are not
limited to the following organizations:
•
American National Standards Institute, Inc. (ANSI)
•
NCRP
•
National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council (NAS-NRC)
•
Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD)
•
ICRP
•
IAEA
The guidance documents regarding occupational exposure limits for each of these agencies are
described briefly below.
