NRC: News Release - 2008-056 - NRC Reports Lowest Average Occupational Dose Ever for Nuclear Power Plant Workers in 2007

				Search Options
Index \| Site Map \| FAQ \| Facility Info \| Reading Rm \| New \| Help \| Glossary \| Contact Us

NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Office of Public Affairs	Telephone: 301/415-8200
Washington, DC 20555-0001	E-mail: opa@nrc.gov
www.nrc.gov

No. 08-156

August 19, 2008

NRC REPORTS LOWEST AVERAGE OCCUPATIONAL DOSE EVER
FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT WORKERS IN 2007
Printable Version

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s compilation of 2007 nuclear power plant worker doses at U.S. reactors shows the average annual collective dose per plant is 97 person-rem, the lowest ever, and is two-thirds of the dose recorded 10 years ago.

To determine a plant's collective dose, hundreds of workers’ individual doses are added up and the result is expressed in person-rem. The average American receives a dose of about 360 millirem every year from all radiation sources; the average nuclear plant worker in recent years received about an additional 160 millirem each year on the job. NRC regulations allow workers at nuclear power plants to safely receive a job-related dose of up to 5,000 millirem each year.

"These results show nuclear power plant operators remain focused on decreasing worker exposure while continuing to maintain and operate the plants safely, in accordance with NRC requirements," said NRC Chairman Dale Klein. “We’ll continue encouraging those plants with above-average collective doses to improve their exposure reduction programs.”

The nation’s 69 pressurized-water reactors had an average annual collective dose of 69 person-rem, down 18 person-rem from 2006 and the lowest ever for that reactor category. The 35 boiling-water reactors had an average annual collective dose of 154 person-rem, the third-lowest ever for that category. Basic design differences between the categories account for the differences in collective dose.

The full report is available on the NRC’s electronic document database, ADAMS, by entering ML081780671 in the search function at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/web-based.html.

NRC news releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC Home Page at www.nrc.gov also offers a Subscribe to News link in the News & Information menu. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web Site.