How ORISE is Making a Difference
U.S. Department of Energy Radiation Exposure Monitoring System (REMS)
Rule 10 CFR 835 establishes the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) occupational protection rule and requires assessment and recording of radiation doses to individuals who are exposed to sources of radiation or contamination. The Radiation Exposure Monitoring System (REMS) database is the radiation exposure data repository for all monitored DOE employees, contractors, subcontractors and members of the public.
REMS maintains dose records for all monitored individuals dating back to 1969. Aggregated, site-specific data are available on the REMS Web site for all years since 1986. Currently, more than 500,000 unique workers are tracked in REMS and there are more than three million radiation exposure records for monitored individuals in the REMS database. A total of 98 organizations report data for 30 DOE sites.
The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) provides management and operational support for REMS, including:
- Data analysis
- Health physics expertise
- Database management
- Web site maintenance and support
- Software development (e.g., for the REMSView application)
- Production of an annual report on occupational radiation exposure
- Collection and processing of more than 100,000 exposure records annually
REMS provides a means of tracking individual radiation exposures and identifying at-risk cases for follow up. REMS also tracks trends by site and over time, identifying opportunities for improvement. Without REMS, DOE would not have the objective ability to verify the safety of its workers.
The data in the REMS database is covered under the Privacy Act of 1974 and is listed as System of Records #35 for DOE. DOE and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) have an interagency agreement to share information and computer systems for this project.