Bill,
Talking about myths; one of the
biggest is that workers are somehow better off healthwise if the person-rem at
a plant is lowered. This would be true only if one accepts the LNT
nonsense. I am not impressed by companies that boast of lower
person-rem exposure, unless that reduction is also accompanied by
lower production costs and/or production efficiency.
Another myth commonly believed is
that judicious scheduling of worker's time allotments to
assure that they will not exceed dose limits is an
integral part of a sound ALARA program. It is not ALARA. Since exceeding
dose limits is not an option, management must do whatever it takes to keep
workers within limits. Compliance with regulatory dose limits is simply the
cost of doing business and not a part of ALARA which fundamentally
involves the concept of optimization, not
minimization.
On the contrary, experience at nuclear power plants generally shows that an
effective ALARA program also promotes good work practices, more efficient
utilization of resources, and high quality work.
The two major aspects of an ALARA program are:
1. ALARA for collective dose - A program for managing collective dose
also promotes:
a. work planning - The attention to detail required
to perform a job with ALARA also results in more efficient work practices.
b. training - dry runs on mock ups results in more efficient work
and fewer errors.
c. lessons learned - Jobs must be reviewed and
lessons learned incorporated into planning for future work. This also
reduces errors and results in more efficient work.
d. job scheduling
- The optimum frequency must be determined for high dose jobs, to avoid
underscheduling, with resulting breakdowns, and overscheduling, which
generates unnecessary dose.
2. even distribution of dose within work groups - This promotes the
more efficient utilization of the work force. Management no longer has
the luxury of letting a few workers carry the load and ignoring
nonperformers.
In fact, the lessons learned from ALARA programs are being used to promote
improved work practices in the non-nuclear side of utilities.
The opinions expressed are strictly mine.
It's not about dose, it's
about trust.
Curies forever.
Bill Lipton
liptonw@dteenergy.com