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NIOSH Comments on DOE Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Public Hearing on Radiation Protection for Occupational Workers, March 25, 1992.

PB97187462

Publication Date	1992
Page Count	16
Abstract	This testimony concerned the views of NIOSH regarding the proposed rule changes for protecting workers from radiation hazards on the job. The Department of Energy addressed three alternate approaches including lowering the annual dose limits for stochastic effects, adopting a different lifetime dose limit, and adding an average annual individual dose requirement of 2 rem to the present single year limit of 5 rem. NIOSH contends that the proposed specific exposure limit should minimize the risk of excess deaths and serious genetic effects among Department of Energy workers. The proposed annual dose equivalent limit of 0.5 rem for pregnant women workers is of concern. The risk of severe mental retardation to the unborn child is about 4 in 1000 live births per rad when exposure occurs between 8 and 15 weeks after conception. Generally NIOSH recommends that the maximum levels for occupational exposures protect the health and functional capacity of the most susceptible member of the worker population. NIOSH would urge that the Department of Energy reduce the current 5 rem maximum level of radiation exposure for all workers to a level that is as protective as feasible for this susceptible subpopulation.
Keywords	Radiation protection Occupational safety and health Reproductive hazards Developmental disorders Occupational exposures Brain disorders Prenatal exposure National Institutes of Occupational Safety and Health
Source Agency	National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Corporate Authors	National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Rockville, MD.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	199721

NIOSH Comments on DOE Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Public Hearing on Radiation Protection for Occupational Workers, March 25, 1992.

NIOSH Comments on DOE Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Public Hearing on Radiation Protection for Occupational Workers, March 25, 1992.
PB97187462

Publication Date	1992
Page Count	16
Abstract	This testimony concerned the views of NIOSH regarding the proposed rule changes for protecting workers from radiation hazards on the job. The Department of Energy addressed three alternate approaches including lowering the annual dose limits for stochastic effects, adopting a different lifetime dose limit, and adding an average annual individual dose requirement of 2 rem to the present single year limit of 5 rem. NIOSH contends that the proposed specific exposure limit should minimize the risk of excess deaths and serious genetic effects among Department of Energy workers. The proposed annual dose equivalent limit of 0.5 rem for pregnant women workers is of concern. The risk of severe mental retardation to the unborn child is about 4 in 1000 live births per rad when exposure occurs between 8 and 15 weeks after conception. Generally NIOSH recommends that the maximum levels for occupational exposures protect the health and functional capacity of the most susceptible member of the worker population. NIOSH would urge that the Department of Energy reduce the current 5 rem maximum level of radiation exposure for all workers to a level that is as protective as feasible for this susceptible subpopulation.
Keywords	Radiation protection Occupational safety and health Reproductive hazards Developmental disorders Occupational exposures Brain disorders Prenatal exposure National Institutes of Occupational Safety and Health
Source Agency	National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Corporate Authors	National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Rockville, MD.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	199721