Radiation protection regulations

This storage class encompasses those products whose handling requires approval or notification in accordance with special radiation protection regulations. 

When working with radio-isotopes, strict attention should be paid to the radiation protection regulations in force at the time. 

The radiation protection recommendations developed by the ICRP have continuously served the need of the experts of radiation protection and the essential elements of these recommendations have been adopted as cornerstones for national radiation protection regulations. The key elements of the internationally accepted Basic Safety Standard (BSS) for radiation protection also are of the ICRP origin. 

It is at present somewhat uncertain if very low levels of radiatirm are harmful. We cannot avoid all radiation since there is a natural radiation background (with approximate yearly exposure) due to, for example, the cosmic rays (40 millirem at sea level, 250 Rem at 500 m elevation) radium and radon in ground and building material (40 Rem) and potassium 40 (18 Rem). In addition, we can add some man-made radiation sources such as one chest X-ray (40 Rem), one dental X-ray (20 Rem), fallout from nuclear explosions (5 Rem), as well as miscellaneous sources such as TV, CRT, etc., all of which total to 163 Rem/year (for sea level). The average annual radiadmi dose to a nuclear reactor worker in Ontario is 0.68 Rem with an annual limit of 5 Rem set by radiation protection regulations. 

The difficulties that waste disposal raised for peaceful atomic development prompted the AEC to devote increased attention to the technical, economic, and public-relations aspects of the problem. One early step it took was to include conditions in its radiation-protection regulations for licensees disposing of small volumes of low-level waste. The regulations allowed discharge of radioactive waste material into public sewerage systems if it was "readily soluble or dispersible in water," did not exceed maximum permissible concentrations after dilution, and did not produce more than one curie per year of radioactivity. The regulations also permitted underground disposal of limited quantities of waste but restricted the number of burials to twelve per year in depths of at least four feet. All other waste-disposal procedures required specific AEC authorization. ... 

Regional Advisory Committee on Nuclear Energy—Established by the Southern Governors Conference in 1957 to promote atomic development, provide technical advice, and encourage the adoption of radiation-protection regulations in the southern states. 

AEC issued forpublic comment revised radiation-protection regulations. 

Revised radiation-protection regulations became effective. SL-1 test reactor accident at Arco, Idaho killed three technicians. 

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