Nuclear industry experiences in radiation exposures

The ‘As Low As Reasonably Achievable’ (ALARA) principle is one of the 3 fundamental elements of radiation protection. Noting that ionising radiation is both encountered naturally in the environment as part of everyday life, and artificially as part of a range of practices, the ALARA principle aims to provide a means of optimising radiation exposures. Since the introduction of the principle the nuclear industry has had a good track record of progressively reducing occupational and environmental exposures across the nuclear fuel cycle. However, recent industry feedback has highlighted that as the exposures continue to decline, there is evidence that its application in the purest sense can result in a disproportionate outcome in terms of wider non-radiological hazards, and / or use of resources both physical and human. This is leading to a general push for day-to-day exposures in nuclear power generation to be far lower than other forms of energy generation, sectors such as medical or minerals refinement, or compared to exposures we get from natural sources of radioactivity. This is at great cost for what is a negligible improvement in public protection. With the ongoing concerns of climate change, many countries have made a commitment to embrace low carbon energy systems. In support of this ambition new nuclear power has been identified as a key part of the energy mix, highlighting the need to further develop the ALARA concept, to ensure a fair treatment of the perceived ‘unique’ radiological risk of nuclear power. This paper explores feedback from industry in relation to optimising radiation exposures in the Nuclear Industry. This includes the need for the evolution of the ALARA principle to ensure it embeds ‘ALL Hazards’, ensures a sustainable outcome, and is informed by stakeholder engagement, along with the need for a graded approach to radiological protection, to ensure that improvement plans are based on clearly defined-value benefits based on judgements of reasonableness, and not in response to external pressures to ‘minimise exposure’. Feedback also highlighted the need to ensure we continue to tackle the Radiation Protection ‘Skills Gap’ and have sufficient skilled resources to meet the current and future needs of the industry in the context of climate change.