[ RadSafe ] > 300 mrems/month = "no significant exposure"?

[William Lipton]

It's an INPO "guideline," which you violate at your peril.

Bill Lipton
It's not about dose, it's about trust.



On Mon, Sep 9, 2013 at 1:46 PM, Stroud - CDPHE, Ed <ed.stroud at state.co.us>wrote:

> Bill and all,
> Do workers at U.S. nuclear power plants really have a 1 rem per year
> regulatory limit, or is that an in-house ALARA limit?
>
> Ed Stroud, Compliance Lead
> Radioactive Materials Unit
> Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
>
>
> On Mon, Sep 9, 2013 at 10:49 AM, William Lipton <doctorbill34 at gmail.com
> >wrote:
>
> > I'm concerned about this NRC event report from a radiography provider:
> >
> > *POTENTIAL OVEREXPOSURE OF RADIOGRAPHER
> >
> > The RSO for the licensee called to report a potential overexposure of a
> > radiographer. This event occurred while the radiographer was checking
> welds
> > at a refinery in Wyoming. While moving the camera to another location,
> the
> > radiographer's dosimeter alarmed. It is suspected that the camera's
> source
> > was not fully retracted into the safe position. The source was
> subsequently
> > retracted back into the fully shielded position.
> >
> > The RSO calculates an estimated dose to the radiographer of 5 rem. The
> > licensee will send the radiographer's dosimetry for expedited reading as
> > soon as possible.
> >
> > The licensee will update this report with additional details as they
> become
> > available.
> >
> > * * * RETRACTION FROM GAYLE STATON TO HUFFMAN AT 1436 EDT ON 9/04/13 * *
> *
> >
> > The RSO has received the radiographer's dosimetry badge readings. The
> > radiographer was still wearing his August dosimetry when the event
> > occurred. His badge readings was 328 mrem for the entire month of August
> > including the exposure from this event.
> >
> > Since there was no significant exposure from the event, the licensee has
> > retracted this event notification. *
> > *
> > *
> > While I'm glad that there was no overexposure, there are 2 important
> issues
> > that need to be addressed:
> >
> > 1.  Why did the source fail to retract:  mechanical failure?, less than
> > adequate training?  under time pressure? ...  This has to be determined
> and
> > fixed.
> >
> > 2.  328 mrems in one month is considered routine and acceptable.  This
> > means that it's acceptable for the company's radiographers  to receive 3
> -
> > 5 rems/year.  This is NOT "As Low As Reasonably Achievable."  Again, the
> > NRC has a double standard.  Power reactors have a de facto limit of 1
> > rem/year for a rad worker.  My experience is that this is rarely
> > approached, and this is under much more difficult circumstances than
> found
> > in most radiography jobs.
> >
> > *B*ill Lipton
> > It's not about dose, it's about trust.
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