A Study of a Dose Constraint for Members of the Public Living Around Nuclear Power Plants in the United States

Abstract

The 2007 Recommendation of the International Commission on Radiological Protection [ICRP Publication 103, Elsevier (2007)] requires implementation of the concept of a dose constraint for members of the public living around nuclear facilities. Under the paradigm of regulatory science, the use of dose constraints is still highly debatable. This study determines whether a dose constraint is necessary for members of the public living near U.S. nuclear power plants (NPPs) using data from the years 2007 to 2009, which were provided by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. As a result of analysis of exposure data, it is concluded that a dose constraint is not necessary for members of the public living around U.S. NPPs and that such a constraint may place an unnecessary regulatory burden on the licensees.

Keywords:

• Dose constraint
• members of the public
• nuclear power plants
• International Commission on Radiological Protection Publication 103

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Nuclear Power Institute at Texas A&M University for its financial support.