[ RadSafe ] Re:U-238 spontaneous fission

[garyi at trinityphysics.com]

Personally, I prefer the word "practical" to "achievable".  Achievable sounds too much like it 
belongs in a motivational mantra, like "What the nuts can believe, the regulations can 
achieve."  

-Gary Isenhower

On 18 Jun 2008 at 23:11, Ross Beveridge wrote:

From:           	"Ross Beveridge" <rgb at rrbev.co.uk>
To:             	"'Doug Aitken'" <jdaitken at sugar-land.oilfield.slb.com>,
	<LNMolino at aol.com>, <radsafe at radlab.nl>
Subject:        	RE: [ RadSafe ] Re:U-238 spontaneous fission
Date sent:      	Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:11:51 -0400

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The ALARP principle is a key part of the UK radiation protection, not
just something to be 'different'!

The requirement to reduce doses to As Low As Reasonably Practicable,
ALARP, is a statutory requirement of the Ionising Radiations
Regulations 1999 (IRR99). The definition of ALARP in law was
established by a judgement of the Court of Appeal, which concluded
that it is reasonable to require an employer to avert a risk unless
the 'sacrifice' (cost, time or trouble) is 'grossly disproportionate'.

The employer must therefore be able to demonstrate that they have; o
Assessed the risk o Estimated the 'sacrifice' o Performed a comparison
between the two o Taken action to avert the risk where appropriate

Demonstration of ALARP is achieved by application of a process, this
involves a series of steps to ensure that doses are carefully managed
throughout the work. This does not necessarily mean that dose has been
minimised, as minimising dose in isolation could have an unreasonable
impact on other key factors such as project timescales or cost. The
requirement is therefore to minimise the overall project risk (as far
as reasonably practicable) by optimising the key elements of: o Dose o
Cost o Project timescale o Number of people o Environmental Discharges
o Conventional Safety

The key point is ensuring that your risk assessment and subsequent
justification is robust enough to stand up to the scrutiny/cross
examination if you find yourself in a Court of Law defending your
recommendations/advice.  

Best Regards

Ross