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Worldwide BASIC Situation Analysis on Occupational Radiation Exposures of Nuclear Fuel Cycle

  • QIAO Yahua;FU Zhiwei;CHEN Haiying;ZHANG Chunming
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  • Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Beijing 100082, China

Received date: 2013-02-20

  Revised date: 2013-04-19

  Online published: 2013-07-08

Abstract

The International Labour Organization and the International Basic Safety Standards define occupational exposure as "all exposure of workers incurred in the course of their work, with the exception of exposure excluded from the standards and exposures from practices or sources exempted by the standards". Various national authorities or institutions have used different methods to measure, record, and report the occupational data. The occupational radiation exposures in nuclear fuel cycle at the worldwide levels, which involve the uranium mining and milling, uranium conversion and enrichment, fuel component fabrication, operation of nuclear reactors, fuel reprocessing, and radiative waste management, are provided (data end up at 2004). The five-year average exposures beginning with 1975 has been evaluated. These data originate from the (OECD/NEA) database, the UNSCEAR, and ISOE of IAEA. The data assessment methodology of dose is described, and the occupational radiation exposures in nuclear fuel cycle are analyzed. The results show that in the each link of nuclear fuel cycle, the occupational radiation exposures of uranium mining is maximum, following by the uranium enrichment and conversion as well as nuclear fuel fabrication. In the period of 1975—2004, the trends of total level occupational exposures has decreased, especially after the 1990s, the average effective doses have been decreased significantly, the safety and health of workers has been effectively assured.

Cite this article

QIAO Yahua;FU Zhiwei;CHEN Haiying;ZHANG Chunming . Worldwide BASIC Situation Analysis on Occupational Radiation Exposures of Nuclear Fuel Cycle[J]. Science & Technology Review, 2013 , 31(19) : 75 -79 . DOI: 10.3981/j.issn.1000-7857.2013.19.012

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