RPM | REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES MANUAL

    Title:

    Radiological Control Standards

    Publication date:

    2/15/2025

    Effective date:

    10/30/2020

    BRIEF

    Policy Summary

    This policy describes Berkeley Lab's approach to ensuring personnel radiation exposures remain below the occupational dose limits set by 10 CFR 835, Occupational Radiation Protection.

    Who Should Read This Policy

    All persons who plan to work in or near an area controlled for radiological protection or who plan to work with or support work with radiation-generating devices or radiological materials

    To Read the Full Policy, Go To:

    The POLICY tab on this wiki page

    To Read the ES&H Program Details, Go To:

     ES&H Manual Chapter 21

    Contact Information

    David Kestell

    Radiological Control Manager
    Environment, Waste, and Radiation Protection Department
    Environment, Health, and Safety Division
    [email protected]

    Title:

    Radiological Control Standards

    Publication date:

    2/15/2025

    Effective date:

    10/30/2020

    POLICY

    A. Purpose

    This policy describes Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's (Berkeley Lab's) approach to ensuring personnel radiation exposures remain below the occupational dose limits set by 10 CFR 835, Occupational Radiation Protection.

    B. Persons Affected

    All persons who plan to work in or near an area controlled for radiological protection or who plan to work with or support work with radiation-generating devices or radiological materials

    C. Exceptions

    Not applicable

    D. Policy Statement

    To accomplish DOE's objective of maintaining individual doses well below regulatory limits (see the Federal Exposure Limits Table on this page), Berkeley Lab has established administrative control levels below the regulatory limits. These control levels are indicated in Table 1 below, and are multi-tiered with increasing levels of authority required to approve higher administrative control levels.

    Table 1. Summary of Berkeley Lab Administrative Control Levels



    RPG will investigate any abnormal or unanticipated personnel exposure exceeding any of the administrative control levels.

    D.1 Occupational Dose Limits

    1. General Employees: General employees shall maintain their radiation exposures as low as reasonably achievable and, if no approval is in place prior to work, must keep exposures within the administrative control levels described above. Dose limits are shown in Table R1, under the Federal Exposure Limits Table tab on this page.
    2. Workers Under 18 Years Old: No one under 18 years old (minors) should be employed in or allowed to enter any Radiological Area or work with radioactive material where they can receive a total of more than 0.1 rem (1 millisievert [mSv]) per year from both internal and external doses. 
      1. The total effective dose received by minors shall not exceed 0.1 rem (1 mSv) per year.
      2. The equivalent dose to the lens of the eye received by minors shall not exceed 1.5 rem per year.
      3. The sum of external equivalent dose and committed equivalent dose to the skin or any extremity received by minors shall not exceed 5 rem.
    3. Declared Pregnant Radiation Worker: the equivalent dose for the embryo/fetus shall not exceed more than 0.5 rem (5 mSv) during the gestation period.
    4. Non-Employees and Visitors
      1. The total effective dose received by members of the public during access to a controlled area shall not exceed 0.1 rem (1 mSv) per year.
      2. Contract personnel are the responsibility of their employers and are obligated by contract to comply with all pertinent DOE and Berkeley Lab safety and health regulations and requirements, including restrictions on personnel under 18 years of age.

    E. Roles and Responsibilities

    Role

    Responsibility

    Deputy Director for Operations

    Reviews and approves (or denies) requests to exceed administrative control levels

    Line manager

    Reviews and approves (or denies) requests to exceed administrative control levels

    Radiation Protection Group (RPG)

    Investigates any abnormal or unanticipated personnel exposure exceeding any of the administrative control levels

    Radiological Control Manager (RCM)

    Reviews and approves (or denies) requests to exceed administrative control levels

    Supervisor, leads, managers
    • Frequently monitor their employees' radiation doses and working environment to establish good ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) work practices
    • Periodically monitor work areas to observe personnel at work and identify good radiological work practices and radiological deficiencies and concerns

    General Employees

    Monitor and minimize their own radiation exposure through good ALARA work practices. Wear dosimeters as required in accordance with approved work control documents and dosimeter training.

    F. Definitions/Acronyms

    Term

    Definition

    As low as reasonably achievable (ALARA)

    An approach to radiological management and control that aims to keep exposures (individual and collective) of the workforce and of the general public at levels as low as reasonably achievable, taking into account social, technical, economic, practical, and public policy considerations

    Radiologically controlled area

    Means any area to which access is managed by or for DOE to protect individuals from exposure to radiation and/or radioactive material. Individuals who enter Controlled Areas without entering Radiological Areas are not expected to receive a total effective dose equivalent of more than 0.1 rem (0.001 sievert) in a year.

    General employee

    Means an individual who is either a DOE or DOE contractor employee; an employee of a subcontractor to a DOE contractor; or an individual who performs work for or in conjunction with DOE or utilizes DOE facilities.

    Declared pregnant radiation worker

    A radiation worker who has voluntarily informed her employer in writing of her pregnancy and the estimated date of conception

    Radiation worker

    A worker whose job assignment requires work on, with, or in the proximity of radiation-producing machines or radioactive materials, or has the potential for being exposed to more than 0.1 rem (1 millisievert) per year, which is the sum of the dose equivalent from external irradiation and the committed effective dose equivalent from internal irradiation. A radiation worker may also be referred to as a "radiological worker" or a "rad worker."

    Radiological Area

    Any area within a Controlled Area that is required by 10 CFR 835 to be posted as a Radiation Area, High Radiation Area, Very High Radiation Area, Contamination Area, High Contamination Area, or Airborne Radioactivity Area

    G. Recordkeeping Requirements

    The care, maintenance, and disposition of RPG records will be done in accordance with Berkeley Lab records management policies and procedures.

    H. Implementing Documents

    Document number

    Title

    Type

    07.08.001.001

    Radiation Protection Program

    Program
    N/A Radiological Control Manual Manual

    I. Contact Information

    David Kestell

    Radiological Control Manager
    Environment, Waste, and Radiation Protection Department
    Environment, Health, and Safety Division
    [email protected]

    J. Revision History

    Date

    Revision

    By whom

    Revision Description

    Section(s) affected

    Change Type

    11/4/2013

    0

    Q. Le

    Re-write for wiki

    All

    Major
    3/8/2017 0.1 M. Stoufer Update "Chief Operating Officer" position title to "Deputy Director for Operations" All Editorial
    10/30/2020 1 K. Heinzelman Minor updates for clarity D.1, E, F, H Minor
    5/30/2025 2 S. Hays
    • Updated “reference table” name to “Federal Exposure Limit Table”
    • Added additional dose limits to minors
    • Changed instances of “dose equivalent” to “total effective dose”
    • Added “Controlled area” and “General employee” definitions
    • Added “skin” to be omitted when accounting for organ/tissue dose limit.
    		 D, F Minor

    FEDERAL EXPOSURE LIMITS TABLE

    The following table, which is taken from 10 CFR 835, lists the federal exposure limits for general employees, declared pregnant workers, minors, and visitors/the public. The reader may also wish to review the Radiation Protection Program details and the particular cited references.

    Table R1. Federal Exposure Limits

    TYPE OF EXPOSURE

    LIMIT

    General employee: Whole body (internal + external)

    5 rem/year

    General employee: Lens of the eye (external)

    15 rem/year

    General employee: Skin and extremities (external shallow dose plus internal dose resulting in dose to the skin)

    50 rem/year

    General employee: Any organ or tissue (other than skin or lens of eye) (internal + external)

    50 rem/year

    Declared pregnant worker: Embryo/fetus (internal + external)

    0.5 rem/gestation period

    Minors: Whole body (internal + external)

    0.1 rem/year

    Visitors (not completed training) and public: Whole body (internal + external)

    0.1 rem/year

    DOCUMENT INFORMATION

    Title:

    Radiological Control Standards

    Document number

    07.08.002.000

    Revision number

    2

    Publication date:

    2/15/2025

    Effective date:

    10/30/2020

    Next review date:

    2/14/2030

    Policy Area:

    Radiation Protection

    RPM Section (home)

    Environment, Safety and Health

    RPM Section (cross-reference)

    none

    Functional Division

    EHS

    Source Requirements Documents

    • 10 CFR 835 Subpart C - Standards for Internal and External Exposure

    Related Berkeley Lab Policies

    07.08.001.000 Radiological Control – Overview
    07.08.003.000 Conduct of Radiological Work
    07.08.004.000 Radioactive Materials
    07.08.005.000 Radiological Health Support Operations
    07.08.006.000 Radiological Training
    07.08.007.000 Accelerator Safety



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