Risk of eye lens radiation exposure for members of the public.
In 2011, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) reviewed its recommendation concerning the equivalent dose limit for the eye lens, lowering it to 20 mSv in a year, for occupational exposure in planned exposure situations. The ICRP's statement does not contain any explicit recommendations regarding the organ dose limit for the eye lens for public exposure. For the moment, no change is proposed. But, to be coherent in the overall approach, the current equivalent limit for the public might be lowered. A similar yardstick than in the former recommendation may be used, that is to say a reduction of 10 times lower than that for occupational exposure. In this context, additional data on potential scenarios for public exposure of the eye lens are necessary. This paper, mainly based on a literature study, aims to provide, as far as possible, an exhaustive list of the situations in which members of the public can be exposed at the level of the eye lens. Once these situations have been defined, some calculations, made to assess the associated doses to the eye lens, are presented. This literature study did not reveal any current situations where members of the public would receive significant radiation doses to the eye lens. Indeed, the situations in which the dose to the eye lens might reach around 1 mSv per year for the public are extremely rare.
Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, IRSN, Bât 02 - BP 17 - 31, Avenue de la Division Leclerc, 92260 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France marie-anne.chevallier@irsn.fr.
M-A
MA
Chevallier
Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, IRSN, Bât 02 - BP 17 - 31, Avenue de la Division Leclerc, 92260 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France.
A
A
Rannou
Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, IRSN, Bât 02 - BP 17 - 31, Avenue de la Division Leclerc, 92260 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France.
C
C
Villagrasa
Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, IRSN, Bât 02 - BP 17 - 31, Avenue de la Division Leclerc, 92260 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France.
I
I
Clairand
D003252:Construction Materials; D003764:Dental Materials; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D055498:Jewelry; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000528:radiation effects*; D007909:Lenses; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000379:methods; D011874:Radiometry; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013690:Television; D014316:Tritium / Q000032:analysis; D054041:Weapons
D003764:Dental Materials; D014316:Tritium