The Implications of the Alara Principle for Regulatory Dose Limits

Abstract

Radiation dose control based on the ALARA principle leads to average annual exposures far below the maximum permissible level. Consequently lifetime risk estimates based on continued exposure at this level give a seriously exaggerated impression of hazard. Radiation protection would be better served by a regulatory policy combining a lifetime dose limit which corresponds with an acceptable lifetime cancer risk, with the effective implementation of an ALARA program.