Quantitative evaluation of conservatism in the concept of committed dose from internal exposure for radiation workers

For compliance with dose limits, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommends that the committed dose be assigned to the year in which radionuclide intake occurred in the case of internal exposure. For radiation workers, the committed dose is evaluated over the 50 year period following the intake, which is a rounded value for the working-life expectancy of a young person entering the workforce. In this study, we develop an approach to the quantitative evaluation of the conservatism in the concept of the committed dose from internal exposure for radiation workers from the viewpoint of radiological risk. Actual annual doses due to an intake of radionuclides for strontium-90 (Sr-90), caesium-137 (Cs-137), and plutonium-239 (Pu-239) were simulated. Risks of fatal cancer, i.e. unconditional death probability rates, were calculated in accordance with the risk estimation method in ICRP Publication 60. It was found that the conservatism ranged from 1.1 to 1.6 for Sr-90, 1.0 to 1.6 for Cs-137, and 1.6 to 2.2 for Pu-239. The importance of understanding the extent of this conservatism and the uncertainty for practical radiological protection are also discussed.