Occupational Radiation Exposure at Commercial Nuclear Power Reactors and Other Facilities 2014: Forty-Seventh Annual Report (NUREG-0713, Volume 36)

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Publication Information

Manuscript Completed: February 2016
Date Published: April 2016

Prepared by:
L.A. Benevides
T.A. Brock
D.A. Hagemeyer*
Y.U. McCormick*

*ORAU
1299 Bethel Valley Road, SC-200, MS-21
Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555-0001

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Abstract

This report summarizes the occupational exposure data that are maintained in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Radiation Exposure Information and Reporting System (REIRS) database. The bulk of the information contained in this report was compiled from the 2014 annual reports submitted by five of the seven categories¹ of NRC licensees subject to the reporting requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) 20.2206, "Reports of Individual Monitoring." Because there are no geologic repositories for high-level waste currently licensed and no NRC-licensed low-level waste disposal facilities currently in operation, only five categories are considered in this report. The annual reports submitted by these licensees consist of radiation exposure records for each monitored individual. These records are analyzed for trends and presented in this report in terms of collective dose and the distribution of dose among the monitored individuals.

Annual reports for 2014 were received from a total of 180 NRC licensees from the five categories described above. The summation of reports submitted by the 180 licensees indicated that 185,604 individuals were monitored, 77,898 of whom received a measurable dose (Table 3.1). When adjusted for transient individuals, there were actually 135,303 unique individuals that were monitored, 58,390 of whom received a measurable dose (see Section 5).

The collective dose incurred by these individuals was 9,342 person-rem (93,420 person-millisieverts [mSv]), which represents a 7 percent increase from the 2013 value. This increase was due to an increase in every reporting category; for example, a 6 percent increase in the collective dose for commercial nuclear power reactor licensees, a 13 percent increase in the collective dose for industrial radiographers, and a 21 percent increase for manufacturing and distribution. The number of individuals receiving a measurable dose increased by 5 percent from the 2013 value. When adjusted for transients, the average measurable dose of 0.16 rem (1.6 mSv) for 2014 is a 7 percent increase from the 2013 value. The average measurable dose is defined as the total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) divided by the number of individuals receiving a measurable dose.

In calendar year 2014, the average annual collective dose per reactor for light water reactor (LWR) licensees was 71 person-rem (710 person-mSv). This represents a 4 percent increase from the value reported for 2013 (68 person-rem) (680 person-mSv). The total outage hours at commercial nuclear power plants decreased by 28 percent from 2013 to 2014 [Ref. 1], and there was a moderate increase in collective dose for this licensee category. Four pressurized-water reactor units shut down during 2013 (Crystal River, Kewaunee, and San Onofre 2 and 3) and are not included in this analysis. The average annual collective dose per reactor was 109 person-rem (1,090 person-mSv) for 35 boiling-water reactors and 51 person-rem (510 person-mSv) for 65 pressurized-water reactors.

There were 28,976 individuals that were monitored at two or more licensees during the monitoring year. The assessment of the average measurable dose per individual is adjusted each year to account for the reporting of a measurable dose for transient individuals by multiple licensees. The adjustment to account for transient individuals has been specifically noted in footnotes in the figures and tables for commercial nuclear power reactors.

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¹Commercial nuclear power reactors and test reactor facilities; industrial radiographers; fuel processors (including uranium enrichment facilities), fabricators, and reprocessors; manufacturing and distribution of byproduct material; independent spent fuel storage installations; facilities for land disposal of low-level waste; and geologic repositories for high-level waste. There are currently no NRC licensees involved in low-level waste disposal or geologic repositories for high-level waste.