ML20011E002
| ML20011E002 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 01/11/1990 |
| From: | Carr K NRC COMMISSION (OCM) |
| To: | Breaux J SENATE, ENVIRONMENT & PUBLIC WORKS |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20011E001 | List: |
| References | |
| BREAUX-900111, CCS, NUDOCS 9002050189 | |
| Download: ML20011E002 (1) | |
Text
e, 3
~
W LQUESTION 1(a).-
Does the NRC still believe that existing regulations under-
~ the Atomic Energy Act adequately protect the public health and safety?'
ANSWER.
Yes, we believe that the existing regulations adequately protect the public health and~ safety.
Existing NRC regulatory limits and our policy that doses
~
should be maintained as low as is. reasonably achievable (ALARA)'have resulted in very low average doses to members of the public. Under this regulatory framework, the average dose to members of the public due to radiation from licensed radioactive materials is far less than-one millirem per year.
Also, we have proposed and received public comment on a revision of our
-radiation protection standards in 10 CFR 20 that, among other things, would
' implement the " Radiation Protection Guidance to Federal Agencies for Occupational Exposure" signed by the President in January 1987. This guidance inclu'ded a fundamental change in the way doses to individuals are to be calculated and controlled as well as dose limits for the embryo / fetus, which the recent BEIR V report indicates has greater sensitivity to radiation than
. the adult. The revision of 10 CFR Part 20 would also lower the dose limits for members of the public based on recoramendations of the National Council on
-Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) and the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). However, these changes are not expected to affect the doses actually received by workers or members of the public because the-average doses to these groups are already well below the existing or revised limits. The Comission intends to take action on this revision in 1
the next several months.