Health Physics Questions and Answers - Question 67

Question 67: This question concerns water approaches to nuclear sites. Several sites for nuclear power plants include portions of navigable lakes or rivers within their licensed exclusion areas. Obviously, the utility does not own these areas. Would such boundaries as defined in our licenses qualify as restricted areas, controlled areas, or unrestricted areas?

Answer: The licensee cannot limit access to navigable lakes or rivers that the licensee does not own; therefore, these bodies of water cannot be part of a restricted area or controlled area and must be considered to be unrestricted areas. However, for the dose calculations for airborne effluents that are required by reactor technical specifications and that are related to 10 CFR 50 Appendix I, doses are not required to be calculated over such bodies of water.

(Reference: 10 CFR 20.1003)