The international system on occupational exposure, ISOE. Status and results for 1995

Throughout the world, occupational exposures at nuclear power plants have been steadily decreasing over the past decade. Regulatory pressures, particularly the issuance of ICRP 60 in 1990, technological advances, improved plant designs, and improved water chemistry and plant operational procedures, as well as other factors, have contributed to this decreasing trend. However, with the ageing of the worlds nuclear power plants the task of maintaining occupational exposures ALARA has become increasingly difficult. In addition, economic pressures have lead plant operation managers to streamline refuelling and maintenance operations as much as possible, thus adding scheduling and budgetary pressure to the task of reducing operational exposures. In response to these pressures, radiation protection personnel have found that by properly planning, preparing, implementing, and reviewing jobs, occupational exposures can be kept as low as reasonably achievable. To facilitate this global approach to work, sometimes referred to as work management, through the exchange of techniques and experiences in occupational exposure reduction, the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) launched the Information System on Occupational Exposure (ISOE) on I January 1992 after a two year pilot program, This four level data base joins utilities and regulatory agencies throughout the world, providing occupational exposure data for trending, cost-benefit analyses, technique comparison, and other ALARA analyses. (author)