ICRP approach for radiological protection from NORM in industrial processes

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recently issued ICRP Publication 142 on radiological protection from naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) in industrial processes. Industries involving NORM may give rise to multiple hazards, and the radiological hazard is not necessarily dominant. They are diverse and may involve exposure of people and the environment where protective actions need to be considered. In some cases, there is a potential for significant routine exposure of workers and members of the public. Releases of large volumes of NORM may also result in detrimental effects on the environment from radiological and non-radiological constituents. However, industries involving NORM present no real prospect of a radiological emergency leading to tissue reactions or immediate danger for life. Radiological protection in these industries can be appropriately addressed on the basis of the principles of justification of the actions taken and optimisation of protection using reference levels. An integrated and graded approach is recommended for the protection of workers, the public, and the environment, where consideration of non-radiological hazards is integrated with the radiological hazards, and the approach to protection is optimised (graded) so that the use of various radiological protection programme elements is consistent with the hazards while not imposing unnecessary burdens.